The Chinese Recorder v14 1883

THE

CHINESE RECORDER

MISSIONARY JOURNAL.

VOLUME XIV.

AMERICAN

SHANGHAI:

PRESBYTERIAN

MISSION PRESS

1883 .

INDEX TO YOL. XIY.

A Calcudar of Flowers.

A Study on the Yili King.
Biblo Animals.

Chinese Education.
Chinese Emigration.
Corean New'Testament.

... Archdeacon Moule. 470

. A Student. IS

Eev. It. H, Graves, D.D. 479
Roy. C. W. Matccr, D.D. 403

. Hoino8. 32

. Rev. J. Ross.

491

Filial Piety Among tho Chiucsc, its Character and Influence .Rov. E. C. Lord, D.l), 289
Glimpses of Haiuau. .Rev. B. C. Homy H,A. 105, 302, 335

Correspondence.

An open Letter to Dr. Dudgeon, .

An open Letter to the Foreigu Merchants in China.

Anti-Opium Prayer Union.

Number of Opium smokers in China.

The Population of China. ..

144

240

64

147

329

Missionary News,

Arrivals*

Ml

1 M

• • I

III

67,

160,

243, 331, 423, 498

Births .

• II

1 • •

III

67,

150,

243, 331, 423, 498

Deaths-

1 • |

• •I

Ml

67,

150,

243, 331, 423, 493

Departures.

IM

in

67,

150,

243, 331, 424, 499

Marriages,

Ml

Ml

III

in

67,

243, 331, 423, 498

Bangkok.

M.

• 11

i • i

152, 244

Canton.

1 1 I

HI

Ml

mi

Ml

152, 499

Clicfoo.

III

III

Ml

Ml

Ml

151, 244, 499

England.

Ml

II •

• II

III

69

Japan.

Ml

III

IM

III

III

69, 244

Naukiug.

III

III

l«l

Ml

... 69

Ningpo.

Ml

III

151

Shanghai.

III

III

68, 151, 424, 499

Since.

• M

• II

244

Peking.

III

• l«

• M

II 1

150, 331

Tientsin.

III

Ml

III

III

150

Woi-hion,

1 1 I

III

III

151

Yun.nan foo.

III

■ II

III

• I*

III

Ml

• ••

243

Notices of Recent Publications.

A Concise History of the American People, from the discoveries of the

Continent to the present time.. ... 334

A Pronouncing and Defining Dictionary of tho Srratovr. 500

Aids to the Understanding of the Biblp in tho Chinese Written Language. 152
China as a Mission Field. 247

Corea, Tho Hermit Nation.—I. Ancient aud Mediaeval History.—JI. Political
and Social History.—III. Modern and Recent History. . 102

>1

INDEX DO YOJ), XIV.

332
2-17

. 332

. ... 164

. 162

71,. 163, 246, 334, 501
. 247

Idiomatic- Dialogues iu. tho Pekiug Colloquial for the use of Students.
Report of tho Medical Missionary Society in Chiua, for-the year, 1882..

Report on Education in tlie West..

The American Autiquarium and Oriental Journal. .

The Beginning of History.

The China Review. .

The Chrysanthemum.. April, 1883.

Tlio Chrysanthemum.. May, 1883. 334

Tlio Chrysanthemum, and Phoenix. January, 1383. 163

Tho Geography of-India.. . 72

Tho Hanuouy of tho Bible with. Science. 245

Tho Middlo Kingdom. 500

Tho Origin ofr Nations. 70

Tho Proofs of Christ's Resurrection from a Lawyer’s Standpoint. 245

Tho Story of tlie Clioh-kiang Missiou of tlio C.M.S. . 246

Ml ?£ $$ The Geography of- Judea. 164

How far should the Curricnlums of'Western achools.aud the Western Methods

of Education be Adopted in Chinn. . Rev. D. C. McCoy. 249

How shall we best meet tho difficulties which arise in our-work from tlio seif.

seeking which characterises the Chinese people ?. ... A Missionary.. 366

Itifineuco of the Rationalities upon the Church.. llcv. N. L.. Wheeler, D.D. 486
Is Morphia Volatalizable ?• . J, Dudgeon, M.D. 56

Jesus; the Model Preacher-to tho Heathen. ... Rev. H. C. DuBosc. 206

K'nug-hi's system of-'initials.Compared with tho Sanskrit Consonants,

. Be*. E, H..Parker. 325,414,476

Notes on the History of Soochow. A. P. Parker. 39, 129, 235

On Certain Characteristics of Three Versions of Holy Scripture published by

tho British and Foreign Bible Society. Bishop.Moule. 410

Romanism in China...Rev. W.. S. Ament. 47

Tho Provcrbs.and Common Sayings.of the Chinese.. .

.Rev. Arthur E-. Smith; 1, 78, 186, 281, 425

Szeebneu Native Opium—A Review. . J. Dudgeon, M.D. 216

Tho Relation between Christianity and Heathen- Systems, of Religion,

. ... Rev. D. Z. Sheffield. 93

The Opium Question.—A Review. J. Dudgeon, M.D. 103

The Population of. Chiua. Rev. A. P. Hopper, D.D. 120

Tho Apostolio Method of Preaching the Gospel as presented in the Acts of

tlio Apostlcu. and in tlio Epistles. . An Evangelist. 261

The Best Method of Presenting the Gospel to the (‘hiuesc. Rev. Arthur H. Smith. 394

The Truth about Opium.—A Reviow.. . .. 417, 432

Tlio Number of Buddhists in the World. Rev. A. P. Capper. D.D, 453

Traces of International Law in Ancient China. Rev W. A. D.D..LL.D. 380

What Shall be Douc with Converts who have more than One Wife Evangelist. 133

MISSIONARY JOURNAL.

Vol. XIV.

JANUARY-EEBRUARY, 1883.

No. 1.

THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE.

By Rby. Abtbdr H. Smith.

( Continued from page 419.J

]M"ANY proverbs of this class contain direct quotations.

^ ‘ Su Cltin is Su Ch'in still—the clothes are changed, but not

the man ’ (£ Jg j£ £ g % $ J $ £ * $ A.). A celebrated
statesman of the Contending Kingdoms. While struggling as a poor
scholar, his mother,' his brother, and his wife all treated him with
contempt. When subsequently he became a Councillor of the Six
States, and returned to his home with all the seals of office dangling
from his girdle, his whole family repented their former behavior, and
were greatly at a loss how to atone for it. On that memorable oc¬
casion, he is supposed to have uttered this saying,.and the one quoted
by Mr. Scarborough, No. 2630, ‘When one is poor his parents dis¬
own him; when he is rich, relations revere him.’ See also Mayers’
Manual> No. 626,

‘The ministers of every dynasty will he like the Emperors of that
dynasty’ {— E Q ). This saying is attributed to Kan Lo

(It H)> the precocious boy-minister of Chinese histor-y (u.c. 260), who
at the age of twelve years was entrusted by a King of one of the
Contending States, with an important message to another sovereign.
To his master’s natural apprehension lest Kan Lo should after all fail,
he is said to have made this reply, signifying that if the Emperor is a
man of preeminent ability, his purposes will be accomplished, even
with ministers of no extraordinary talent. He calls whom he pleases,
and those whom he calls must please him. In the present dynasty, a
descendant of the famous Ch'in Kuei (see Mayers’ Manual ,

No. 783), whose name has been covered with obloquy because he
counselled peace with the northern barbarians, became Senior Wrangler
OPt X)- The Emperor said to him: “Your ancestor in the Sung

2 THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAVINGS OF THE CHINESE. [ Januai’}'-

dynasty was a traitor; see that you do not resemble him.” The dis¬
tinguished scholar aptly cited in reply, the words of Kan Lo : ‘ Each
dynasty has ministers who are like its Emperor/ q.d. my ancestor may
have been in fault—hut then the Sung Emperor was a different person
from the present occupant of the throne. Mr. Scarborough (No. 2090)
quotes this saying without explanation, and effectually eliminates all
its meaning, by the translation: “Each dynasty has its Sons of Heaven
and its ministers.”

‘The insect can fly but ten paces, but let him attach himself to
the tail of a noble steed, and he may go a thousand miles' ^

Hh Fff ^ il $J Mo)- This saying is credited to Chao Ku'ang
Yin (|j=f [It j§[), the founder of the Sung dynasty, who is a conspicuous
character in Chinese history, and who has given his name to the Chao
Wang ($jf j£), River in northern Shantung. The expression is used
in self-depreciation, and has become a synonym for sycophancy—to
attach oneself to a great mau’s train.

‘Shall I suffer another man to sleep under my bed?’ f*

ASK*.)- This is another utterance of the first Emperor
of the Sung dynasty. The words are said to have been quoted bv the
Emperor Tao Knang, in- conversation with one of his ministers in
regard to the demands of the British government, at the time of the
war of 1842.

‘ Chu Mai Ch'en divorcing his wife—spilt water hard to gather
up’ I 6 i Jx ?}C 1 This was a scholar of the Han

dynasty, who was so poor as to be obliged by day to gather fuel for a
living, and to study at night. His wife regarded his prospects as
•hopeless, and asked to ‘ be excused ’—in other words, to obtain a re¬
lease from her husband, that she might remarry elsewhere. In spite
of the urgent entreaties of Chu Mai Ch x cn she persisted in her request,
and was accordingly divorced. By the time he had become Senior
Wrangler, his wife was reduced to beggiug for a subsistance, and
implored her former husband to receive her again as his wife. He
replied by telling her to pour water upon the ground, which she did,
when he ordered her to gather it up, adding that when she had done
so, her prayer would be granted. Hence the expression ‘spilt water
hard to gather/ has become a synonym for the irreparable past.

‘Will your Excellency kiudly enter the jar?’ (|f Alt)- A
certain Emperor had a minister who was guilty of high crimes and
misdemeanors.' Iustead of punishing him directly, His Majesty com¬
manded an official of less rank than the offender, to contrive in some
way to administer a reproof. The difference in the rank of the officers,
made this an extremely difficult undertaking. The lesser officer, how-

February.] the proverbs and common sayings op the Chinese. 3

ever, called upon,the minister, and related a supposititious case of an
official who had been guilty of certain grave offences, and inquired
what should be done to such an evil-doer. The Minister, unsuspicious
of the snare laid for him, declared that a great jar should be prepared
full of oil, into which the culprit should be put, and then file should
be applied until he was cooked. Upon hearing this sentence, the
crafty interrogator replied: ‘Will yo.ur Excellency please to enter that
jar?’ The words are used, as equivalent to the answer of Nathau to
David: “ Thou art the man!”

‘ A large granary robbed of a chestnut—a floating leaf from a
great tree’(;fc &)• This refers to an incident

in the wars of the Three Kingdoms, when Chu Ko Liang (|$ ^ ifE)
told Chou Yii (J3 fj&) that two persons dismissed from the vast host at
their command, and sent to the enemy, would be no more missed than
a chestnut from a granary, or a leaf from a tree.

‘Plentiful as the seeds in a cart-load of grain ’ (If* 5|* ;£ % 0 ).

This is another splinter of the stories of the Three Kingdoms. Liu
Chang (|l] was governor of Ssu Ch'uan (|ff Jl|) and desDatched
Chang Sung ($g |&) to the Capital (§£ to see the prince IIan ffsicn
Ti (pH jff; *j$f). Chang Sung was a great scholar, and a person of great
importance. Before obtaining an audience, it was necessary to see
Ts'uo TVao (fl whose well known brusque manners so offended
Chang Sung, that lie contrived —wore Chinese —to revile and abuse TVao
Ts'ao, yet in such oblique fashion, that the latter, although deeply
exasperated, was quite at a loss for a reply. Chang Sting was a person
of far too much importance to be secretly put out of the way, and no
obvious method of retaliation presented itself. When Chang Sung
took his leave, TVao Ts'ao deputed another scholar named Yang Jffsiu
(fU $£) do the proper honors. The two fell to discussing various
subjects, but Yang flatus scholarship, although great, was unequal to
the demands of Chung Sung. Among other subjects, the art of war
was introduced, and Yang Hsiu exhibited with pride a three volume
treatise on military subjects, which had been composed by TVao Ts'ao
himself. This work being submitted to Chang Sung, lie glanced at it,
as he rapidly turned over the leaves, and exclaimed contemptuously :
'Ts'ao IVao never wrote this; it was done ages ago by a mere child—
and is of no merit whatever.* Yang flsiu demanding his authority
for such a slander, he replied that in Ssu Ch'uan every little boy could
repeat it. ‘ Then,’ said Yang flsiu, ‘do you repeat it, and I will listen.’
So Chang Sung —who in reality had never seen the book before in his
life—began at the first chapter and repeated the whole three volumes
from beginning to eud without missing a single character. In China,

4 THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE. [January-

nothing could more securely establish the claims of any one to vast
scholarship, than such a feat as this for in this country the man who
remembers everything, is the man who knows everything* Yang
Bsiti was astonished beyond measure, and exclaimed: This book is
indubitably the work of Tt'ao Ts'ao. For you to have committed it to
memory at a glance, is a proof of your transcendant abilities. Pray how
many scholars can Ssu Ch'um produce, who are like you? ‘Like me?'
replied Chang Sung scornfully, ‘Like me? Why persons of mg abilities
are as plentiful in Ssu ChUian, as the grains in a cart-load of millet!’

‘Tip us the wink, said Iron Staff Li,

Then I'll cheat yon, and you’ll cheat me.’

is m. le i is.

ft n # ss m ft.

‘Li Iron Staff,’ or the ‘Iron Staff Teacher’ (jg£ ^ ££) was one
of the Eight Immortals (/\, j[|]). See Mayers’ Manual, No. 718.
According to tradition, he was much grieved at the iufatuation of the
human race, especially in the mad race for wealth. The purport of
the satirical advice in this couplet, is that since everything that exists
was bestowed by Heaven, such distinctions as memn and tuum are
entirely arbitrary, and at longest can not outlast the lives of the pre¬
sent owners. Let us then shut our eyes, and cheat and be cheated as
much as we can.

Many sayings belonging to this class, are merely suggested by tbe
well known characteristics of some individual, and have no relation to
any particular incident. Thus is ‘ Meng Chiang and Liu Hai travelling
in together—the Weeping accompanies tbe Laughing’H §)1
f$ 51 PrT ^ &feng Chiang was a woman of very ancient
times, who was au expert weeper. Liu Hai, a reputed Chinese Democ¬
ritus, was noted for his laughter. These characters, supposed to
have lived centuries apart, are linked together to denote the union of
smiles and tears.

‘ Chou's dog barking at Yao —each follows his own master’ ^
§§=> ^ Sr io)‘ Chou was the celebrated tyrant whose crimes

put an end to the Shang (or Yin) dynasty, b.c. 1123; while Yao (who
ffied much more thau a millenium previously) ‘stands at the dawn of
Chinese history as a model of all wisdom and sovereign virtue.’

* The high estimate placed upon this faculty of absorbing information accurately by a
mere glance, is illustrated in tbe saying; ‘A quickness of perception which renders

one able to recite, whatever has once met the eye’ (as *■«»«.)■
So also : ‘Reading off the inscription on a stone tables, while passing on horse¬
back’ (ll* IS $!<>)• As these inscriptions often extend to hundreds of
characters, this feat is regarded as evidencing abilities which ‘ beat the world ’

(& £ * *.).

February.] the proyerbs and common sayings of the Chinese. 5

* Chang Fei selling hedge-hogs—a mighty man whose wares wound

the hands’ (Si $H 0 A 5,1 ^ fL Chang Fei —the com¬

panion of Liu Pei and Kuan Yu, —already referred to—was wealthy,
and far above the need of peddling porcupines for a living. His well
known personal prowess, and the danger of offending him, have given
rise to this saying. It is applicable, for instance, to a magistrate of a
dangerous character, whose underlings it is not safe to provoke.

' Chang Fei catching a mole—the big eye staring at the little eye’
(31 fll # Hk If I! fD- Chang Fei is said to have had

large eyes—those of a mole are small. This is applied to two persons
both of whom are at their wits end because their plans have miscarried,
and they have nothing left but to stare at each other.

‘ Speak of Tfao Ts'ao and lie appears * (=£ ^ W $5 «£ fll-)-
The famous general who overthrew the Han Dynasty, is * the most
prominent character in the great drama of history forming the epoch
known as that of the Three Kingdoms.’ Such was his strategical
ability that it was as if one had but to mention his name, and lo he
appeared, as if by a descent from heaven.

‘ Tx'ao Ta'ao buying a horse, wishes to see its mother
B.K *#?.)• It is probable that this saying arose by mistake
from another, of similar sound: * Buying a horse at the manger—look
at its mother ’(#« a «.*!#?.)«■ the demerits of children
seen in their parents.

* Eating the food of Wang Many, but entering the kingdom of

Liu Hsiu ’ (P£ 3^ % gi] % (§ gL). Wang Mung belonged to

the Western Han, and Liu Hsiu to the Eastern Han. (See Mayers’
Manuals Nos. 418 and 804). Many who received emoluments from
the usurper Wang Mang were secretly in the interest of Liu Hsiu, by
whom the government was at length seized. Used of double dealing.

‘Let a dog bite Fan Tan and no one cares; but if a scorpion stiDg
Shih Clf ung sympathizers come in such crowds as to break down tbe
doors Fan Tan was a

scholar, ideally poor, blessed with a great number of children, who all
rose to distinction in high office. Shih Ch'img —the Chinese Croesus—
of the Sung Dynasty, a merchant whose money-making capacities are
the envy of thousands. Many wonderful tales are related of his in¬
exhaustible wealth, as that in rivalry with a petty potentate be covered
the streets for forty li with brocade, beating his rival by ten li; that
he gave as a present a coral tree, seven ells high (the King being only
able to produce one of three ells high); and that he bought a beautiful
girl for * thirty six measures of fine pearls,’ a bargain which turned
out badly, as the Viceroy threw Shih CfSung into prison to get this

6 THE PKOVJGRBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE. [Januai'y-

inaideu, where he died. Hence the proverb: ‘Where now is the wealth
and prestige of Shih Ch'ung? But Fan Tan having such sons could not
he called poor’ (ft # ^ 'g 4* ft ^ # ll ¥ 'F $ ^o)- Iu the
following verse, the opposite fortunes of Fun Tan and Shih Cheung are
contrasted, as well as those of several other individuals, all of whom have
been already mentioned, except P'cng Tm( jjijL See Mayers' Manual,
No. 561) a mythical personage whose life was laid out on the antediluvian
piau, and who is fabled to have lived eight hundred years:—

‘ Kan Lo was young when up he sprung an Officer high of State,

But the evil star of old Tzu Y<i till eighty made him wait.

Feng Tsti appears eight hundred years before he fades from view,

Yen Hu i retired (I mean expired) at the age of thirty two.

How Fnu Tan he was horribly poor, but Shih Ch'nng rich was he,

The Diagrams Eight interpret Pate according to Heaven’s decree.’

t si« s ? * i. sj; m m m » *

«£ ft S S #= S. A ? £ m » W Ht.

‘Fishes dropping to the bottom of the river; Wild Geese alighting

on the ground; The Moon obscured ; Flowers put to shame' ,15„

0 ). These expressions embody allusions to several
celebrated Beauties in Chinese history or legend. Wu Tzu Sail (f3£
~P d?) of the kingdom of Ch K a (^), [See Mayers’ Manual, No. 879]
in his flight to the state of Wu (1^) is said to have seen a beautiful
woman by the river side washing clothes. The fish illuminated by the
light of her resplendent countenance, were dazzled, and sank to the
bottom. The same story is told in regard to Ssi Shih (U j the
famous beauty of the Yiieh (%&) state. See Mayers’ Manual, No. 571.
The legend of the Wild Geese, is one of the tales connected with the
name of Chao Chiin (H7J M), See Mayers’ Manual, No. 45. After she
had been taken captive by the Northern Barbarians (Hf $[) she im¬
plored a Wild Goose to take a letter to the Emperor Han Wu Ti
(iH which she tied to the foot of the bird, by whom it was

faithfully delivered iu the Emperor’s Palace. This letter, declaring
the inflexible resolution of his favorite concubine to put an end to her
life, and thanking the Emperor for his kindness to her, so affected
him, that he soon afterwards died of grief!

It was Tahiti Ting f^;) who, in a contest with the Moon, forced
that luminary to pale its ineffectual rays and hide its face. See
Mayers’ Manual , No. 792.

The Beauties, who in their walks in the gardens caused the flowers
to lose their color, were Tiao Ch'an (f g tip), [See Mayers’ Manual, No.
669] and Yang KueiFei (fJJ j§; jfc) the concubine of Ming Wang (BfJ J|)
of the Tang Dynasty. See Mayers’ Manual, No. 887.

‘ Hearing with her eyebrows, and speaking with her eyes—that
was Lu Chu (ji HH, U 3$i 0 ). This was the concubine of

February.] the proverbs and common savings of the Chinese. 7

Shift Ch'ung $&) previously referred to, and she was the one who
was the means of his ruin, as already related. The Prince envied
Shift Ch'uvg the possession of a concubine at once so beautiful and so
wise, and easily contrived a way to obtain her by the imprisonment of
her master.

‘The unselfish man with the Iron Face—that was Pao Ch'cng’
($£ H3 I!?; % (ty Ao S EO- This was a stateman of the Sung Dvuasty
[See Mayers’ Manual, No. 539] who never smiled in his life. He was
upright aud disinterested, but so immobile of countenance, that he
gained the soubriquet of the Iron Face, which has become si synonym
for unselfishness.

‘Submission to the T'ang Dynasty on two occasions’ (~ § JI).
This saying refers to an incident iu the life of Li Mi (*£ $?), [See
Mayers’ Manual, No. 359] who is said to. have gone with ChHn Ch'iung
(M IS?) an d others, to cast in his lot with the founder of the Thing
Dynasty, but turned aside after going a part of the way. At a later
period he went again. The expression is used as a circumlocution to
indicate that.a thing has been done twice, or that it has been unneces¬
sarily repeated several times.

‘They are a well matched pair —Fd Chang and Yu Hun ’ (flfj,
'T'te — % He $ Ai $«)■ These were two wicked ministers of Chon
Wang whose evil reign closed the Shang Dynasty. They are

regarded as ideals of all that is bad in ministers. The expression is
used of two persons irredeemably vicious,

‘A line on the ground—friendship broken ’ (g|J f{| $S 7" ^). This
saying refers to a story related of Yiieh Fd (■/& of the SungDynasty.
See Mayers’ Manual, No. 928. In early life he was poor, having been
driven from his home by devastating floods. He afterwards studied
military science, and taught ten pupils bound to him by an oath of
brotherhood. When the whole region in which he lived was reduced
to destitution by famine, bis ten pupils came to the abode of Yiieh Fei
with their horses, to pay him a visit until times should mend. Yiieh
Fei entertained them as well as he could, though with such evideut
difficulty, that his ten pupils deliberated how to assist him. Instead
of paying for their board (at famine rates) up to date, and betaking
themselves with their horses elsewhere, they decided to black their
faces and turn highway robbers. This intention was carried into effect
by the plunder of a company of merchants, the avails of whose goods
were presented to Yiieh Fei with the statement that the ten had all
been to their original homes, and (like Ananias and Sapphira) sold
their possessions. Now Yiieh Fei was a man of great sagacity, whose
experience of life had probably taught him that persons who would

8 THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. [ January-

come to live upon a ‘ sworn -"brother/* in a year of famine, bringing
their horses with them, would be quite capable of stealing, and of lying
about it afterwards. He saw through their tale, challenged them with
its falsity, and wrung from them a full confession. He then made a
short speech, worthy of a Sunday School Superintendant, on the im¬
propriety and folly of breaking the laws of the land, and concluded
by drawing a line ou the ground with his spear, intimating that his
friendship with them was terminated. This done, he mounted his
horse, and rode away weeping, without even settling the account of
his late boarders.

‘The Jade restored uninjured to the state of Chao; Pearls return¬
ing to So PV H lift M 3$; ilo)- The first clause relates to
an incident of the Lieh Kuo (JiJ (U). A precious jade seal (3£ g|) had
fallen into the bands of the State of Chao (.$§)• The Prince of Ch'in
m in the hope of gaining the treasure by guile, offered twelve cities
as an equivalent for its possession. The ruler of Chao understood the
plot, but could not refuse the exchange. Ho one wished to go upon
the dangerqus errand which was involved, until a man named Lin
Hsiang Ju (jjfj 4S in) came forward, and offered to take the gem to the
King of Ch'in. The jade which he carried is in some accounts repre¬
sented as a false one. When the delivery of the cities was refused,
the original gem was restored perfect and uninjured to the ruler of
Chao, without prejudice to his dignity, by the skill of Lin Hsiang Ju.
See Mayers' Manual, Ho. 393. Ho P'u Hsien (£■ §£) a city within

the jurisdiction of Canton, is noted for its pearls. When the District
Magistrate is upright and pure, the pearls are produced in abundance.
If, however, he should be avaricious the supply ceases. The saying
quoted, refers to Meng Ck'ang ^), [See Mayers’ Manual, Ho. 490]
whose virtuous rule brought back the pearls which had been driven
away by the extortions of his predecessors. The words are used of
lost things restored.

‘Bearing rods on his back, and asking for punishment’ jfij

^ en fpo)- This saying relates to the same Lin Hsiang Ju mentioned
in the last paragraph. He was of humble birth, and had been a slave,
but his great abilities secured him employment. His success in the
difficult matter of the jade seal, raised him to the highest rank. The
chief military counsellor of the ruler of Chao, Lien P'o ($£ j$) was
angry at this promotion, and threatened to beat Lin, if he met him in
public. Knowing this, Lin avoided Lien P'o. When asked why a
Minister of the highest rank, as he now was, should fear a military
man like Lien P f o, he replied smiling: “The only security of the State
of Chao against its neighbors, is in its civil and military officers. Civil

February.] the rnovijuus and common sayings or the Chinese. 9

government tranquillizes a State, military rule settles a Kingdom
(£*«». #5 USB.)- The military administration of Chao is
vested in Lien P'o, and its civil administration is in my hands. If
we should come to a rupture, disasters to the country would speedily
eusue. If I was not afraid of the King of ChHn when he refused to
exchange the cities for the jewel as he promised, it is not likely that
I fear Lien P'o, and why should I imperil great interests for the sake
of a private grudge, for every state is superior to his in strength.”
This patriotic reply was reported to Lien P'o, who was thus led to
reflection, and became so ashamed of his behavior that he came to the
door of Lin Hsiang Ju with a bundle of rods bound to his bare back,
and there knelt, requesting punishment. This resulted in a permanent
friendship between the General and the Statesman !

‘ The beneficent league of ChHn and Chin ; the indissoluble union
of the families of Chu and ChHn ’ (£ « K & $ ft .). The
States of ChHn and Chin were incessantly at war, but at last made a
treaty of perpetual peace. The families of Chu and ChHn, belonging
to one of the Contending States, lived in a place called Almond Flower
Village ), where they were the only persons of wealth. In

consequence of this, each family contracted marriages only with the
other, so that in time the house of Chu and that of ChHn became
inextricably interturned. This saying is employed in forming matri¬
monial engagements, vows of friendship, &c., to indicate the permanent
nature of the contracts.

* Even Ho and Huan can not cure one of worms in the heart'
(ft H These were two famous physicians of the

ChHn state, whose skill was so great that they could almost bring the
dead to life. Yang is a disease caused by worms in the heart.
The Imperial Dictionary of E'ang Hsi informs us that in ancient times
persons who ‘lived in the grass’ were extremely liable to this form of
attack. Hence when asked as to ones health, it became customary to
reply: “lam not troubled with worms” (ftt According to popular
belief, however everyone has worms in the heart. When they are at
rest they cause no disturbance, but the least motion generates disease,
often ending fatally. The saying is used to show that an evil heart
can not be cured.

‘When the disease has entered the Eao-mang there is no help for
it’ W T IS IS To)- The ruler of Chin fell dangerously ill.

A Minister went to the State of ChHn to invite Ho and Huan* to come
and treat the case. Before the physicians arrived, the Prince of Chin

• Others say that it was Pien Ch’iao f^j) who was called in. See Mayers’ Hfuitunt
No. 653, 2.

10 THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAVINGS OF THE CHINESE. [January-

dreamed that he saw two little men, of an extremely malevolent ap¬
pearance, coming out of his own nose. They sat and frolicked upon
the bed, and held a professional consultation. “ Before loDg/’ said
one of them, “ Ho and Huan the famous physicians of Ch'in will be
here, and then we shall be out of business. “ No fear of that/’ said
the other, “we can hide under the kao (|J) and over the many (pf
properly Juicing) where the doctors can not find us. As soon as Huan
arrived and felt the pulses of his distinguished patient, he unhesitat¬
ingly affirmed that nothing could be done for him, for the disease had
entered the Kao-mang, which is explained as being inaccessible to
acupuncture, because a membrane covers the heart which no one dare 3
to pierce. The Kao is immediately under the heart. The saying is
used of anything incurable.

* So handsome as to have fruit thrown to him, enough to fill his
chariot' (H £n j§> ^ dS $<>)• This refers to P'rro An ($§ $) of the
Sung Dynasty, the most beautiful youth known to Chinese history or
legend. Whenever this Apollo appeared upon the streets in his car¬
riage, the women gazed upon him with admiration, and threw pears,
peaches and other fruits, so that his cart was filled with them. The
expression is used in praise of masculine beauty.

l Yen Ying of the CJC-i State, killed three counsellors with two
peaches' ~ $[■ H io)- The Duke of ChH made n great

feast for his Ministers. Two magnificent peaches were offered by the
prince to the two who according to their owu estimate were most worthy
of them. Two generals having given an account of their merits, the
peaches were adjudged to them. After the peaches had been eaten,
another general came forward with a narrative of his merits, which
proved to be so much greater than those of the others, that the first
two ministers were filled with mortification, which they exhibited in
the characteristic Chinese method, by suicide. Upon this, the third
general, indignant that his comrades should have been sacrificed to a
peach, died himself! This plan is said to have been arranged by Yen
Ying, [See Mayers’ Manual, No. 917] because he perceived that the
influence of the three generals over the ruler of ChH was becoming
unduly great. Hence of one who contrives a plot to injure several
persons at once, it is said, ‘ He manages to ruin three worthies at the
same time.’

‘ There are only two busy people in the world ’ (5t T W Pi A
It is one of the many incidents related of the Emperor Ch'ien
Sung, that he was once walking on the city wall of Peking, when look¬
ing down upon the multitudes pouring through one of the principal
gates, he asked Wang Hai $8) how many people he supposed there

February.] the provetihs and common sayings of the Chinese. 11

TCere in the world. As census reports were comparatively unknown
150 years ago, it is not strange that Wang Hsi was unable to answer
specifically, yet he replied that after all there are only two men living.
When the Emperor inquired how that could be, he explained that one
is named Fame (ig) and the other Gain (fij). The saying is used to
indicate that these furnish the sole underlying motives which really
influence human conduct.

* IIan Hwi though defeated an hundred times, by a single battlo
established his merit; Fa Wang though an huudred times victorious,
by a single battle ruined his country and lost his life ’ (|£ fg "g - j$; 0
- m iii.-nttBC #•)■ For an account of Han
Hsin see Mayers’ Manual, No. 156. Reference has been already mado
to Fa Wang. See Mayers’ Manual, No. 165. His great stature, his
coarse manners, and his savage brutality, have given his name an un¬
dying immortality of infamy. Fa Wang, it is said, was only a Monkey t
washed and dressed 5E 75 ’vfc M % '&<>)• His bad qualities
have been explained by a table similar to that concerning Romulus
and Remus, as in the following lines :—

‘The origin of old King Pa wns like no living thing—

Of Dragons born, by Tigers nursed, and screeued by Eagle’s wing;

He learned when grown to umu’s estate the spear and sw'ord to wiold,
Prepared against ten thousand foes alone to take the field,

Then having learned the martial art, lie left tho eastern shore
Eight thousand pupils following on when Pa Wang went beforo.

Ho would not heed the warning words of Fan Tseng to his cost,

And thus a thousand victories, alas! were wholly lost.’

-i&£#SA*.

RH*S8fE»3ft.
ATT**am. pJffifetTM.

‘The tyrant C/tou perished in the year Chin while the good founder
of the Chou Dynasty established his kingdom in the very same year’

This saying is used to show that a
particular year is in itself neither good nor bad, but that success or
defeat depends upon the character and actions of men themselves.

‘ Like sitting on a cushion of needles-like nettles in one’s back ’
(in This refers to a notorious robber aud pirate

at the beginning of the present dynasty, named Chou Yin Lung (|5j
f£) who abandoned his evil ways, aud was rewarded with the post of
captain of the guard. In consequence of liis merits in this capacity,
he was promoted to be a general. His associates in office all despised
him on account of his antecedents, and this circumstance, together
with his unfamiliarity with the ceremonial of office, soon led him to
petition the Emperor for leave to give up his post, and retire to his

12 TIIE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE. [January-

native village. The expression is used to indicate that one is ill at
ease, in consequence of incongruity between his own character and his
surroundings.

f When the nest falls, there are no whole eggs ’ (|g ^ ^

This was the wise remark of a lad in the time of the Three Kingdoms,
whose father was condemned to death, and who refused to fly, as
escape was impossible.

‘ When a dog bites La Tung Pin, it is because he does not kuow
a true man when he sees one 5 ($J g J| Ac)- Lu

Tung Pin was one of the most famous of the Taoist patriarchs, and
one of the Eight Immortals. See Mayers’ Manual, No. 467. The
saying is used of a good man, who is misunderstood.

1 If you were Chang Tien Shih and Li Tien Wang combined, I
should not be afraid of you ’ ({ft jgSj; * Si X 6®. X 2.8 & *
t&o)- Chang Pun Sink has been already referred to. (Mayers’
Manual, No. 35) U Tien Wang or No Cha Tai Tzu (§& p£ ± ff) is
represented as existing at the time of the founding of the Chon
Dynasty. According to the popular belief, he held in bis hand a Pa¬
goda, but in Mayers’ Manual (No. 520) this is explained a 3 hav¬
ing been a mistaken interpretation of the thunder bolt which he gras¬
ped. This golden pagoda, seven inches in height, was capable of flight,
and could be expanded to the altitude of eighty feet, after which it
would return to its original proportions.' On this account No Cha is
often called the Heavenly King who supports the Pagoda
5c 3:)- The book in which legends relating to Li Tien Wang are
popularized is called the Feng Shm Yen I (^ jjf |g) q. d.: ‘ The
Fictitious Account of the Deification of gods’—by Cluang Tai
Rung (H ^ Q) who is the Hero. It is a kind of Taoist Wonder Book,
as full of fables as the Travels of Baron Munchausen, and its title, like
the name of that adventurer, has come to be a synonym for extravagant
mendacity. The last two characters of this title—referring to the
unreality of theatrical representations—are sometimes used alone in the
sense of false, as in the saying, Chiang Tai Rung making obeisance
[to the symbols which confirmed him in office] as General—pure
stuff,’ The meaning is, that this is one of the idle

stories of the Idle Story Book, but as in many other current Chinese
sayings, the underlying assumption is wrong. This incident is said
to be historical—while most of the others are fictitious.

‘ Accomplishing one’s work by means of others’ (@ AfW !£<&<»)■
Weng Chang Chun ^ ||) whose name was Tien Win (fiQ ]£)
was a prominent man in the State of ChH (^). He had a great num¬
ber of friends and adherents gathered about him, to a total of three

February. ] the proverbs and common sayings of the Chinese. 13

thousand, each of whom had his own abilities, and who were divided
into upper, middle, and lower classes. When it became desirable for
the Prince of Clii to make a league with the ruler of Ch'u ()
since there had been a long-standing enmity between the two poten¬
tates, it was necessary that the ambassadors should be men skilled
both in civil and military affairs. The enterprise was entrusted to T'icn
Wen, who was to be accompanied by nineteen others selected from
among his three thousand guests. He succeeded in selecting nine¬
teen (including himself) but although he scrutinized the list of the re¬
maining 2982 persons in quest of another ambassador, he scrutinized
it in vain, for the abilities of the greater part of T ien Win’s ' guests’
do not appear to have been of a diplomatic nature. At this point
one of the ‘third class guests’ whose name was Mao Sui j§£) came
forward, and proposed himself as a candidate for the vacancy. At this
proposition every one laughed heartly, for Mao Sui had no ablities,
either civil or military, whereas the service in hand required both,
and his’principal achievement in life hitherto, had been to eat and
sleep. Never a word had he spoken—never a plan bad he conceived.
THen Wen’s knowledge of men was great, but Mao Sui was so in¬
ferior and generally unprepossessing in appearance, being singularly
lean withal, that T'ien Wen had never estimated him at a high rate.
Mao Sui then spoke- two or three sentences to T ( ien Win, who
promptly assented to his offer. When the diplomatic party were
admitted to an interview with the King of CVw none of them could say
a word, and for the space of more than ten days the proposed treaty
made no progress whatever. But one day Mao Sui at an interview
with the King, held such an arrogant demeanor, and used such lofty
language, that the King of C K hu was much pleased, and at once as¬
sented to the treaty, which was immediately signed. Thereupon Mao
Sui not unnaturally observed to the other nineteen ambassadors, "Of
what use is your civil and military ability, when it may be said of
you that after all you do your work by the aid of others’({Q A
His diplomatic compeers, upon this, confessed their
fault. The patient Header who bestows discriminating attention
upon the minutiae of tales of this sort, will receive a vivid impression
of the trivialities and inconsequential absurdities of Chinese history,
as seen in some of its popular aspects. The expression cited, is used
of those who follow after and share in the glory, when others have
done the work.

* With the body of a Sheep, clothed in a Tiger’s skin merits can
never he achieved. The hair of the Phoenix united to the liver of a
Chicken, can not accomplish results’ *10. fit & 7% Ufa*®. %

14 THE PROVERBS ANT) COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE. [Jatlliary-

This couplet was made at the expense of Yuan Shao
$?) [See Mayers’ Manual, No. 967] who was unsuccessful in his
military adventures. Chn Ko Liang (already mentioned) is said to have
remarked of troops of Yuan Shoo, under the leadership of T* K ao 7Vao,
that they were an assemblage of Ants or a gathering of Crows — (|£$|
^ *£)—formidable only in appearance, but dispers¬

ed as soon as collected. This last expression is used of friends, who,
though numerous, are not to be depended upon iu an emergency.

'Although there may be thousands of words under his pen yet if
in his breast there is no skill in plan, it is not true scholarship’ (af

T SS ^ ItB.W # 31 & — H & 4o) This is one of se¬
veral sayings attributed to C/m Ko Liang, iu reference to a Minister
of the Eastern Wu.

'When half the empire of the Ming Dynasty has been lost, still
to utter the yu character ’ $1 65 ft. til £ T ^ D5 W ^o)

This saying refers to the troubled days of the Emperor Ch'ung
Cheng ( ^ M) when the Ming Dynasty was drawing to its close. The
rebel Li Tzu Cheng g jg£) had taken so many cities, and so much
territory, that the jEmperor was in despair, and continually burned
incense and resorted to divination, to ascertain the will of Heaven in
regard to the domain of the Mings—whether it was to be divided or
not. Heaven responded by giving him the Yu% character, whereupon
the Emperor was greatly pleased. One Minister, however, fell to
weeping upon hearing this announcement. The Emperor, in surprise,
inquired the reason, and was reminded, in reply, that the characters
Ta Ming % f$, ‘ Great Ming Dynasty,’ when reduced more than half,
formed the Yu character [the first two strokes of the ta character
and the yuch of the following character, forming together the Yu
iff character]. Here was, therefore, reason to fear that the rebels
had already seized more than half of the Empire. The subsequent
suicide of this Emperor, by hanging, wheu the rebels reached the
gates of Peking, showod that this was a true estimate of the political
condition of the Empire.

' There is only one great stroke of luck in the world, and that was
bought up by Wang Hua Erh* (t£ ~ ® £, !£:£?£§£

-jfe T,,). It is populary believed that because the Emperor Cheng
Te (j£ ^ the eleventh of the Ming Dynasty) had no son, he was
accustomed to make secret excursions, in disguise, among the people,
on the plan of the Caliph Haroun al Raschid, with a view to finding
some perfectly filial son whom he could adopt. Roaming about in the
garb of a beggar clad in straw, he offered to sell himself, declaring that
if any orphan would purchase him for a father, he would exact no

February.] tub proverbs and common sayings op the Chinese. 15

purchase mouey. Everyone ridiculed this absurd proposal, but a poor
and fatherless youth named Wang Hm actually came forward, and
took the beggar for his father. The latter tested Wang Hua’s con¬
stancy to his newly formed filial relationship, by an hundred different
experiments, but Wang Hm proved adequate to them all. At last the
Emperor took his treasure to the palace, and made him his successor
on the throne, when he became known in history as C'ria Clung (|| $g)
‘The Wtn character when analyzed, discloses a Prince on this
side aod on that' (P4) iH. H g*). The Emperor Cheng

Te , as mentioned above, had no son. When dangerously ill he cast
about, to think who of all his numerous nephews would do for the
throne, but he could fix upon no one of them who was at all suitable,
for those who were not stupid were vicious. At length, however, he
recollected a youth whose connection with the imperial family was ex¬
tremely distant, whose father held office in Ssu Chilian. • This lad was
only eighteen years of age, and had accompanied his father the pre¬
ceding year upon a visit to court, where he attracted the favorable
notice of the Emperor, who now conceived the idea of sending for him
with a view to make him his successor. His majesty, not unnaturally,
feared that should this purpose become known, tie nearer members
of the imperial family would contrive some way to put the lad out of
the way, before he could reach Peking at all. Cheng Te therefore re¬
sorted to craft. He sent a message to the young man’s father, an¬
nouncing that his son, upon his last year’s visit to Peking, had been
found to be guilty of certain disrespectful behavior to his own father,
and ordering the latter to send his son to the Capital, to receive some
admonition from the Emperor. Neither the lad nor his father could
form the least idea what this strange order signified, no thought of
the Emperor’s real purpose having entered their minds. On parting
with his parents to be conveyed by ‘flying carts’ to the court, the youth
wept, and proceeded upon his solitary journey filled with sad fore¬
bodings. At an inn upon the route where the animals were fed, a
person who tells fortunes by the analysis of characters, (jgj ^ ftf}

5* ) happened to attract the young man’s notice. He immediately
resolved to try his fortune, and wrote the character meaning “ to ask,”
{iv&n jSJ) which he presented to the fortune-teller to be interpreted, in¬
quiring what should be the outcome of this sudden summons to Peking
—whether auspicious or otherwise. The skillful analyser of characters
at once pronounced the omens most favorable, on the ground that the
character (ivin ftfj), consisted of two characters for Prince (chun £)
one on each side ^ fSjj]. Although the young traveller was wholly
unprepared to credit such a divination as this, he was easily persuaded
to promise that when he became a Prince, he would send for the

16 THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE. [January-

fortune-teller to be bis Minister. After the young man actually became
Emperor (taking the style of Chia Ching H $jf ), this promise was
redeemed, and the diviner, whose name was Lew Sung (J§ became
a most important Minister, but so bad a one that his Imperial Master
was obliged to starve him to death by compelling him to beg with a
silver bowl; as related in a preceding paragraph.

These sayings in regard to the origin of a famous Ming Emperor,
with, their various inconsistencies and absurdities, furnish a text for
repeating and emphasizing some observations which have already been
either explicitly made, or implicitly suggested. The great foes to cor¬
rect historical knowledge among the common people in China, in ad¬
dition to the ever-present ' struggle for existence ’ which frequently
renders any kind or degree of education an utter impossibility, may be
said to be three. First, the almost infinite voluminousness of such
historical works as pretend to fulness, as well as the barren meagerness
of the smaller compendiums. Their vast extent places the standard
works of reference quite beyond the means of any but the comparative¬
ly rich. Imagine a state of society, where in a county (Esien District)
inhabited by thousands of scholars, there is known to be only one Histo-
ry (*«> a work in seventy cases (t'ao), consisting probably of four
hundred or five hundred volumes, sufficient in bulk for one or two
cart-loads, and no part of this histroical wilderness, accessible to
outsiders on any terms whatever 1 No wonder the Chinese proverb
runs: ‘ If one wishes to be acquainted with the Past and the
Present, he must read Five Cart-loads of hooks/ (H &D "ifr ^
A work corresponding to the " Childs’ History
of England,” in which every important event is accurately noted
in its order, the connection between events clearly shown, and
the whole presented in an interesting, compendious and attractive
manner, would he of the greatest possible assistance in contributing to
a popularization of historical knowledge in China. Aids of this kind,
however, so far as appears, are absolutely lacking. Another enemy
to popular historical knowledge is the little books so often cited, called
Light Literature (HJ ^), frequently based upon some historical or
semi-historical occurrence, in which, however, all but the merest out¬
lines are not seldom perfectly unhistorical. The plots are woven with
exclusive reference to making an exciting narrative. Thus a circum¬
stance which in a standard epitome of history, ($JJ $§) would perhaps
be summarily dismissed in two lines, may be amplified in Light Liter¬
ature into an entertaining volume. A popular story of this sort, has
an immortality of its own, and will penetrate in every direction where
true histroy can never reach. The other enemy of real historical

February.] tiie proverbs and common sayings of the Chinese. 17

knowledge is two-faced—the omnipresent Theater, and the all-per¬
vasive Story-teller. The Chiucse are indeed the most patient of au¬
ditors, but not even a Chinese audience could be expected to listen
with interest to the dultiess of an ordinary Chinese history. The
Theatrical representation, as well as the narrative of the Story-teller,
are free and unfettered. They can start anywhere and go everywere,
can make everything out of nothing, and like skillful conjurers, can
bring the most astonishing things out of a place which is visibly
empty—to wit, their mouths. The consequence of these conditions
is, that accurate information on historical subjects is by no means
so easily obtained in China as might be expected from the number
(absolutely great although always relatively small) of reading
men or ‘scholars’ whom it is practicable to consult. The ordinary
school-master may be said to be a kind of a mean between the more
accomplished scholars above them and the positively or compara¬
tively uneducated masses below them. Yet an ordinary school¬
master, taken at random, might not perhaps he able to give exact in¬
formation, say in regard to the era of the Contending Kingdoms. The
“Memorials of the Contending Kingdoms” gf jjfc) helms not
improbably road, but that was a long time ago. With the “Spring
and Autumn Annals ” of Confucius ho may be familiar, although
this is by no means certain, as that work is said of late years to
be much neglected. The Contending States wore about twenty in
number, and in reading the Annals of twenty different states, it is
difficult even for the memory of a Chinese teacher to remember at
all times which is which. Besides this the knowledge of ancient
geography which most Chinese possess is almost certain to be con¬
fused and imperfect. A graduate of Cambridge University, whose
time had been chiefly given to- mathematics, might not pass a good
examination upon the details of the Saxon Heptarchy, although the
Saxon Heptarchy is from five hundred to a thousand years nearer to
ouv times than is the epoch of the Contending Kingdoms. Yet
whatever his knowledge, or ignorance, we can not conceive that the
Cambridge man’s acquaintance with the History of England should
have been derived, partly from talcs which he had heard his grand¬
father repeat, as they had been told by his grandfather, partly from
recollections of historical plays, and the rest from the perusal of
such productions as Jane Porter’s “ Highland Chiefs” or Louisa
Muhlochs’ “Court of Henry the VIII.” Yet instances to which
this supposititious case would form no very distant analogue, might
be easily cited in China. The Chinese are at once the most learned
and the most ignorant people in history.

18

A STUDY OK THE YIH KINO.

[January-

A STUDY ON THE YIH KING.

1. The Yi King. Translated by James Legge. Oxford : 1882.

2. Mutationvm Liber. Cursus Literature Sinaca. Vol. III., pp. 520— 619.

P. Angelo Zattoli, S. J. Chang-hai: 1880.

8. A Translation of the Confacian Yih King, or the “ Classic of Change .' T

By the Rev. Canon McClatchie, M. A. Shanghai: 1882.

4. The Quarterly Review : July, 1882. Art. V.—Chinese Literature.

T?EW books have occupied the attention of so many students as

the volume of the Chinese classics which is designated “The Yih
King” or the Book of Changes. Dr. Legge having stated the fact that,
quotations from 218 commentators on this work are found in the
Imperial Rang-hi edition of it, says, “ I may venture to say that
218 are hardly a tenth of the men who have tried to interpret this
remarkable book, and to solve the many problems to which it gives
rise.” The fact that we have four translations of it into European
languages—three of which have appeared within the last ten years—
is evidence [of the interest with which it is regarded by students
in the West.

The appearance of Prof. Legge’s Translation, with its very
valuable Introduction, gives all persons greater advantages for un¬
derstanding this hook than they have hitherto had. We propose in
this paper to present from Dr. Legge’s Introduction some of the views
which he, after a long and laborious study of the work itself and
some of the standard Chinese Commentaries on it, holds in regard
to its antiquity, the authorship of its several parts and its general
meaning; and also the opinion of others on some of these points.

The Yih King comprises four integral parts, viz: The 64 lineal
figures of Fuh-hi, the explanation of these figures by king W en, the
explanation of these figures-by the duke of Chow, and the Appen¬
dixes, styled the tf Ten Wings,” which are commonly ascribed to
Confucius. It is thus seen that the several parts are of different
dates. Fuh-hi lived, according to Dr. Legge, d.c. 3322, according
to Mr. Mayers and the other authorities b.c. 2852. King Wen
made his explantion b.c. 1143; the duke of Chow, some thirty-four
years after king Wen wrote his, say b.c. 1108 ; and the Appendixes
were written say from b.c. 485 to 400.

In most of the Chinese editions of the Yih King parts of the
Appendixes are printed in continuity with the explanations of king
Wen and the duke of Chow; the other parts of them are printed in
separate chapters after the whole 64 figures have been explained.
All the translators have conformed their translations to this, the
most common arrangement of several parts. But Dr. Legge has
separated the explanations by king Wen and duke of Chow, which

February.] a study on the yih kino. ly

he styles the Text, from the Ten Wings, which are ascribed to
Confucius, and has arranged them all under seven Appendixes.
There are evident advantages from this arrangement, as it keeps the
writings of the different authors separate and distinct.

Dr. Legge describes the Yih King as consisting of "a text in
explanation of certain lineal figures, and of appendixes to it;” and
expresses the opinion that the former was composed in the twelfth
century b.c., and that the Appendixes were composed between six
and seven centuries after the Text. He then gives the following
“ account of what we find in the Text, and how it is deduced from
“ the figures:—

“ The subject-matter of the Text may be briefly represented
“ as consisting of sixty-four short essays, enigmatically andsymboli-
“ cally expressed, on important themes, mostly of a moral, social, and
“ political character, and based on the same number of lineal figures,
“ each made up of six lines, some of which are whole and the others
“ divided.

“ The first two and the last two may serve for the present
“as a specimen of those figures: . . . .. ' and

— ... -—The Text says nothing about

. - -- •

“ their origin and formation. Kiug Wan takes them up, one after
“ another, in the order that suits himself, determined, evidently, by
“ the contrast in the lines of each successive pair of hexagrams, and
“ gives their significance, as a whole, with some indication, perhaps, of
“ the action to be taken in the circumstances which he supposes them
“ to symbolise, and whether that action will be lucky or unlucky. Then
“theduke of ZCau, beginningwiththefirstorbottomline, expresses,
“ by means of a symbolical or emblematical illustration, the signi-
“ ficance of each line, with a similar indication of the 'good or had
“ fortune of action taken in connection with it. The king’s inter-
“ pretation of the whole hexagram will be found to be in harmony with
“ the combined significance of the six lines as interpreted by his son.

“ Both of them, no doubt, were familiar with the practice of
“ divination which had prevailed iu China for more than a thousand
“ years, and would copy closely its methods and style. They were
“ not divining themselves, but their words became oracles to subse-
“ quent ages, when men divined by the hexagrams, and sought by
“ means of what was said under them to ascertain how it would be
“ with them in the future, and learn whether they should persevere
<f in or withdraw from the courses they were intending to pursue-

20

a STOEfY ON the yiH king. [January

“ I will give an. instance of the lessons which, the lineal figures are
“ made to teach, but before I do so, it will be necessary to relate what
“ is said of their origin, and of the rules observed in studying and
“ interpreting them. For information on these points we must have
“ recourse to the Appendixes; and in reply to the question by whom
“ and in what way the figures were formed, the third Appendix
“ supplies us with three different answers:—

“ (i) The 11th paragraph of Section ii [of 3rd Appendix]
says:—

“ ‘Anciently, wlion tlie rule of all under heaven was in the hands of
“ Pfio-hsi, looking up, he contemplated the brilliant forms exhibited in
“ the sky; and looking clown, he surveyed the pattern shown on the
“ earth. He marked the ornamental appearances on birds and beasts,
“ and the (different) suitabilities of the soil. Near at hand, in his own
“ person, he found things for consideration, and the same at a distance,
“ in things iu general.. On this he devised the eight lineal figures of
three lines each, to exhibit fully the spirit-like and intelligent opera-
u tions in and to classify the qualities of the myriads of things.’

“P&o-hsi is another name for Fu-lisi, the most ancient person-
“ ago who is mentioned with any definiteness in Chinese history,
u while much that is fabulous is current about hini. His place in
“ chronology begins in b.c. 3322, 5203 years ago. He appears in
“ this paragraph as the deviser of the eight kwa or trigrams. The
“ processes by which he was led to form them, and the purposes
“ which he intended them to serve, are described, but iu vague and
“ general terms that do not satisfy our curiosity. The eight figures,
u however, were, —■— i - / ' —. — ,

» -.- and -- ; called Mien, tui, 11, Aitn, sun,

“ khan, kau, and khwang; and representing heaven or the sky;
t( water, especially a collection of water as in a marsh or lake; fire,
11 the sun, lightning; thunder; wind and wood; water, especially as
“ hi rain, the clouds, springs, streams iu defiles, and the moon; a hill
“ or mountain, and the earth. To each of these figures is assigned
“ a certain attributo or quality which should bo suggested by the
“ natural object it symbolises; but on these attributes we need not
“ enfcer-at present.

“ (ii) The 70th and 71st paragraphs of Section i give another
account of the origin of the tvigrams:—

“ ‘ In (the system of) the Yi there is the Great Extreme, which
produced the two I (Elementary Forms). These two Forms produced
“ the four Hsiang (Emblematic Symbols); which again produced the
“ eight Ewa (or Trigrams). The eight Kwli served to determine tho
11 good and evil (issues of events), and from this determination there
“ ensued (the prosecution of the) great business of life.’

February.] a study on the yih kino. 21

“ The two elementary Forms, the four emblematic Symbols,
u and the eight Trigrams can all be exhibited with what may

“ be deemed certainty. A whole line (-) and a divided

“ line (- -) were the two I. These two lines placed over

“ themselves, and each of them over the other, formed the four
" Hsiang. - ;= T - =•

“The same two lines placed successively over these Hsiaug, formed
“ the eight Kw&, exhibited above.”

“ It is a moot question who first multiplied the figures from tho
u trigrams universally ascribed to Fu-hsi to the 64 hexagrams of
“ the Yi. The more common view is that it was king "Wan ; but
“ K\X Hsi, when he was questioned on the subject, rather inclined
“ to hold that FCt-hst had multiplied them himself; but he declined
u to say whether he thought that their names were as old as the
u figures themselves, or only dated from the twelfth century b.c.
' r I will not venture to controvert his opinion about the multiplica-
“ tion of the figures, but I must think that the names, as we have
u them now, were from king Wan.”

• * • • • • < • *.

c< (iii)The 73rd paragraph of Section i, with but one paragraph
between it and the two others which we have been considering, gives
what may be considered a third account of the origin of the lineal
figures:—

“‘Heaven produced the spirit-like things (the tortoise and the
“ divining plant), and the sages took advantage of them. (The opera-
“ tious of heaven and earth are marked by so many changes and trans-
“ formations, and the Sages imitated them (by means of the Yi). Heaven
“ bangs oat its (brilliant) figures, from which are seen good fortune and
“ bad, and the sages made their emblematic interpretations accordingly.
“ The Ho gave forth the scheme or map, and the Lo gave forth the writ-
“ iug, of (both of) which the sages took advantage.’

“The words with which we have at present to do are—

“ ‘The Ho (that is, the Yellow River) gave forth the Map.’ This
“ map, according to tradition and popular belief, contained a scheme
“ which sewed as a model to Fft-ksi in making bis 8 trigrams.. Apart
“ from this passage in the Yi King, we know that Confucius believ-
“ e< l ^ su ch a map, or spoke at least as if he did.* In the ‘ Record
“ of Rites’ it is said that ‘ the map was borne by a horsef and the
“ thing, whatever it was, is mentioned in the Shft as still preserved
“ at court, among other curiosities, in b.c. 10794 The story of it,

“ as now current, is this, that ‘ a dragon-horse ’ issued from the

* Aualecta, IX, viii.

t LI XI, Vm, iv, 1C.

: Shft, V, sxii, 19.’

22 a study on the Tin king. [January*

“ Yellow River, bearing 1 on its back an arrangement of marks, from
“ which Fu-hsi got the idea of the trigrams.

“ All this is so evidently fabulous that it seems a waste of tim9
“ to enter into any details aboftt it.

“ My own opinion is, that the second account of the origin of
“ the trigrams and hexagrams is the true one. However the idea of
“ the whole and divided lines arose in the mind of the first framer,
“ we mast start from them; and then, manipulating them in the
“ manner described, we arrive, very easily, at all the lineal figures,
“ and might proceed to multiply them to billions. We cannot tell
“ who devised the third account of their formation from the map
“ or scheme, on the dragon-horse of the Yellow River. Its object,
“ no doubt, was to impart a supernatural character to the trigrams
“ and produce a religious veneration for them.”

“ But all the work of prince JT/iang or king Win in the Yi thus
<c amounts to no more than 64 short paragraphs. We do not know
“ what led his son Tan to enter into his work and complete it as
“ he did. Tan was a patriot, a hero, a legislator and a philospoher.
“ Perhaps he took the lineal figures in hand as a tribute of filial
“ duty. What had been done for the whole hexagram he would do
“ for each line, and make it clear that all the six .lines ‘ bent one
“ way their precious influence/ and. blended their rays in the globe
“ of light which his father had made each figure give forth.
»*«»•***'••

“ At length I come to illustrate what I have said on the snbject-
“ matter of the Yi by an example. It shall be the treatment of the

“ seventh hexagram which king Wan named

“ Sze, meaning Hosts.

“ The hexagram Sze is composed of the two trigrams Khan and
“ Khwftn [the latter placed above the former] exhibiting waters
“ collected on the earth; and in other symbolisms besides that of the

“Yi, waters indicate assembled multitudes of men.The name

which king Wan gave the figure shows, however, that he saw in it
“the feudal hosts in the field. . . . . . . .

“ Looking again at the figure we see that it is made up of five
“ divided line3 and of one undivided. The undivided line occupies
“ the central place in the lower trigram,—the most important place,
“ next to the fifth, in the whole hexagram. It will represent, in the
“ language of the commentators, f the lord of the whole figure/ and
“ the parties represented by the other lines may be expected to be

A STUDY ON ‘THE YIU KING.

23

February.]

« of one mind with him or obedient to him. He must be the leader
of the hosts. If he were on high, in the fifth place, he would bo
“ the sovereign’of the kingdom. This is what king Wan says:—

“ ' Sze indicates bow (in the case which it supposes), firmness and
“ correctness, and (a leader of) age and experience, there will be good
“ fortune and no error.’ ”

The Duke ot ilau expands it thus:—

*• ‘The first line divided, shows the host, going forth according to the
“ rules (for such a movement). If those (rules) be not good, there will be
“ evil.’ The second lino divided, shows ((lie leader) in the midst of the
“ hosts. There will be good fortune and no error. The king has thrice
“ conveyed to him his charge. The third line, divided, shows how the
“ hosts may possibly have many commanders :—(in such a case) there
“ will be evil. The fourth line, undivided ” shows hosts in retreat: there
“ is no error. The fifth line, divided, shows birds in the fields which it
“ is advantageous to sieze (and destroy). There will be no error. If the
“ oldest son lead the host' and youuger men be (also) in command,
“ however firm and correct he may be, there will be evil. The topmost
“ liue, divided, shows the great ruler delivering his charges (to men who
“ have distinguished themselves), appointing some to be rulers of
“ states, and others to be chiefs of clans. But small meu should uot be
“ employed (in such positions).’ ”

The above is a specimen of what I have called the essays that
make up the Ti of Aau. So would king Wan and his son have had
all military expeditions conducted in their country 3000 years ago,

“ Sze is a fair specimen of its class. From the other 63
“ hexagrams lessons are deduced, for the most part equally good
“ and striking. But why, it may be asked, why should they be con-
“ veyed to us by sucb an array of lineal figures and in such a farrago
“ of emblematic representations ? It is not for the foreigner to insist
“ on such a question. The Chinese have not valued them the less be-
" cause of the antiquated dress in which their lessons are arrayed.
“ Hundreds of their commentators have evolved and developed their
“ meaning with minuteness of detail and a felicity of illustration
“ that leave nothing to be desired. It is for foreign students of
“ Chinese to gird up their loins for the mastery of the book instead
“ of talking about it as mysterious and all but inexplicable.”
See pp. 2 to 26.

In the third chapter of his introduction Dr. Legge presents his
views of the authorship of the Appendixes and their contents.
He says:—

“They are reckoned to be ten, and called the Shih Yi or ‘ Ten
“ Wings.’ They are in reality not so many; but the Text is divided
“ into two sections, called the Upper and Lower, or, as we should say,

24 a study on the Yin kino, [Januavy-

c< the first aud second, and then the commentary on each section is
“ made to form a separate Appendix. I have found it more con-
“ venient in the translation which follows to adopt a somewhat
“ different arrangement."

Prof. Leggk arranges the “ Ten Wings" under seven Appen¬
dixes, dividing some of them into two sections. The authorship of all
the Ten Wings has been ascribed to Confucius by the Chinese com¬
mentators and by all the translators except Dr. Legge. He thinks
from an examination of the fifth, sixth, and seventh wings which
are comprised in his third and fourth Appendixes, that he finds in¬
ternal evidence that they were not prepared by him; and thus, having
fixed a doubt of his being the author of these three, he concludes he
is not the author of any of them. Yet he says, “ I do not doubt,
“ however, that they belong to what may be called the Confucian
“ period, and were produced some time after bis death, probably
“ between b.c. 450 and 350." Confucius died b.c. 478. Dr. Legge
states that all the Appendixes have been ascribed to Confucius with
nearly the same unanimity as the text is ascribed to king Wen and
the duke of Chow.

The historian Sze-m a-khien, whose ‘Historical Records’appeared
100 years before our era, expressly ascribes them all to Confucius,
except the last two, which he does not mentiou at all, and this was, no
doubt, the common bebef in the fourth century after the Sage’s death.
And this continues to be the “all but unanimous opinion of Chinese
critics and commentators" to the present time. Whether Dr. Legge
has succeeded in setting aside this opinion, which has come down
through these more than 2000 years, every sinologist will judge for
himself. The testimony in favour of the belief that Confucius was the
author of the Appendixes is more reliable than the testimony to the
authorship of the Text which Dr. Legge accepts as reliable; because
the Appendixes were written so much nearer to the time of the
preparation of reliable history. The opinion does not imply that
they were written out in full by his own pen, but that they contain
his views and teachings, in regard to the Text, as he had taught them
to his disciples. We refer our readers to Dr. Legge’ s book for his
clear statement of the contents of the Appendixes. See pp. 31—55.

Another point on which Dr. Legge differs from the Chinese com¬
mentators and other foreign authorities is the question of the antiquity
of the Yfh King. P. Regis states that the “ Y-king is the first and most
ancieDt of all the Chinese Books which are styled classical.’’ Canon
McClatchie says, “The Yih king, or Book of Change, is regarded
by the Chinese with peculiar veneration, not only as being the most
ancient of their classical writings,” &c. The writer of the article in

February,] a study on the yih kino. 25

tlio Quarterly Review says, “Thus, thought Chineso historians are
« doubtful as to when and by whom the. Yih king was written, com-
« mon consent proclaims it to be the oldest work in their literature. 5 ’
While Dr. Lbgge writes:— “ The Shft is the oldest of the Chineso
“ classics, and contains documents more than a thousand years earlier
“ than king Wan. Several pieces of the Shik King are also older than.
“ anything in the Yij to which there can thus be assigned only the third
“ place in the point of age among the monuments of Chinese litera-
<f ture.”

On this point, which Dr. Lbgge moots, there is some facts to
sustain the positions which the different disputants occupy. It being
readly admitted by all that some parts of the Shu and She are older
than the explanations of king Wen and the duke of Chow, no one
contends that the explanations of the figures are older than these parts
of the Shft and the She. But as lineal figures are the basis of the
Yih King, and are an essential part of the book; and as these are
admittedly older than any document in the Shu hy a thousand years,
according to Dr. Legge himself, it would appear that the Chinese
are correct in their universal agreement in regarding the Yih King
as the oldest monument of Chinese literature. It is not, however,
sup posable that these lineal figures existed in the long interval from
the time of Fuh-hi b.c. 2852 to the time king Wen wrote hi3
explanation b.c. 1143. It is most reasonable to suppose ]tliafc some
explanations were handed down with them either oral or mitten.
It is also most probable that king Wen embodied the most of these
traditionary explanations in what he mote. On this surmise there
are found in the Yih not only lineal figures which have come
down from the highest antiquity of this nation but the substance
of the traditionary explanations of them. The reasons which
sustain this surmise are these : These figures were regarded with
great veneration or superstition at even that early period by the
people. They were used, as there is every reason to believe, in
divination. It is not supposablo that any one, however honored among
the people could have substituted new explanations to figures so used
and so superstitiously regarded. It is, however, a very probable sur¬
mise that one so regarded as king Wen could enlarge and fix the
traditionary explanation so that it would be accepted as tho authori¬
tative one.

In an article in the Quarterly Review for July, 1882, on Chinese
Literature, the writer gives his opinion of the Yih King thus:—
“ Legend attributes the basis of the work which consists of eight
“ diagrams of whole and divided straight lines, to the Emperor
“ 1 uh'hi, or Mih-hi as he is also called, who is said to have reigned

26 A study ON TEE yih kino. [Jannary-

“ from 2852 to 2787 b.c. These eight diagrams, by means of new
“ combinations of their parts, were multiplied into sixty-four hexa-
“ grams. But by whom this was done is a disputed point. Some
<r native authorities say that the new combinations were designed
" by Mih-he himself; others, by Shin-nung (b.c. 2737-2697); some,
by the Great Yu, who drained off the water of the flood (b.c.
“ 2255-2205); and others again, by Wan Wang (b.c. 1231-1135).
“ of the sixty-four hexagrams stands at the head of each
“ chapter, and is followed by a few sentences which form the
“ original text. With regard to the authorship of these sentences,
“ also, authorities differ, but there is good ground to believe that,
ff if they were not by Mih-hi himself, they were the work of a
“ contemporary. Following the principal sentence of the text and
“ interspersed with the remaining paragraphs, come commentaries
“ (Twan and Seang) which are attributed by many Chinese writers to
c< Wan Wang and his son Chow Kung respectively, though modern
cc critics incline to the belief that Confucius, who also wrote a com-
f< mentary on the whole work, was their real author.

“ This uncertainty as to the authorship of Yih king finds its
“ counterpart in the doubts which exist as to its meaning. ' The
<( philosophy of the Yih king is deep/ is the favourite evasive
“ reply of Chinese scholars, when asked to explain its drift. That as
“ early as the Chow Dynasty (b.c. 1122-255) it was regarded as a
u work on divination there can. be no doubt; and when the Emperor
“ Shi Hwang-ti (b.c. 221-209), in order to check that learning
“ among the people which he feared might make them brood over and
u discuss his mandates, ordered the destruction of all books except
IC such as had reference to divination, medicine and husbandry, the
“ Yih king was saved as belonging to the first category. Authors
“ in subsequent times have discovered that it bears a moral and
“ political meaning; and vague generalities, such as that it ‘embodies
“ the virtues of Heaven and Earth, the brightness of the sun
“ and moon, the order of the four seasons, and the good and evil
ff fortunes pertaining to gods and devils' are employed to conceal the
“ prevailing ignorance of its contents. The meaning of the text, as
“ understood by this last School, has lately been ably and faithfully
“ set forth in the translation of Yih king by Dr. Legge, which forms
“ the sixteenth volume of Max Muller’s ‘Sacred Books of the East/
“ Those who take a pleasure in seeing how

‘ Mens infinna liominum cgbK perrumpcve clausfcva
Cum studcfc, in tenebras proecipitata ruit ’

“ will be amply gratified with the contents of this volume, which while
“ it illustrates the ingenuity of native scholars, fully justifies our

A STUDY ON TUK Y1H KING.

27

February.]

“ remarks on their failure to understand the true nature of the work.

“ Neither, then, as to its authorship nor its meaning do Chinese
" writers speak with any certainty. Probably no book in the world has
“ been so largely commented on as the Yih king, and certainly no
“ book has kept its own secret so close and for so many centuries. The
“ riddle has been before the Chinese literary world for more then three
l< thousand years;ib has exercised the ingenuity of the keenest intellects
“ of every age; and it remains at the present day as much a mystery as
u when, according to current belief, Wan Wang sat poring over the
“ original text in his prison cell. This uncertainty is suggestive of the
“ probability, that the true explanation of the riddle lies beyond
“ the ken of the critics and the commentators. It is impossible to sup-
<( pose that, had they been in possession of the full materials for
l< investigation, they would one and all have failed to arrive at the true
<! conclusion of the matter. Recent research has shown that this pro-
a bability may be accepted as a certainty, and the key to the mystery,
u which was been beyond the reach of Chinese scholars who know no
tf other language than their own, and who are but very imperfectly
” acquainted with its archaic form, has within the last few months
“ been revealed to a French scholar, M. Terrien de La Couperie, who,
l< bringing his knowledge of the ancient languages of Babylonia to
“ bear on the question, has opened the seals of the book which has
“ been practically closed for upwards of thirty centuries.

“ But this discovery is but-apart, anda small part, of the revelation
“ made through the same instrumentality of the origin of the people
” and language of China. The long interval between the arrival of the
“ Chinese in China and the beginning of a connected history of the race
“ has served to obliterate among them all traces of their origin; and,
“ though it is a recognized fact that they woro immigrants from a for-
a e % Q land, there exists no legend, much less any record, of whence
they came. But they came as a civilized people. They possessed a
“ knowledge of writing, of agriculture, and of astronomy, and they
u were versed in the art of government. Before such civilized
invaders, the aborigines, who were not themselves without some
culture, were destined to give way and were forced to accept with
the yoke of the Chinese the language they brought with them.
This it is that has betrayed their origin, and by means of which
( we are able to trace them back through the misty ages of a-nti-
“ ^ty to the regions of Susiana. The Akkadian syllabaries
brought by George Smith and others from Babylonia furnish an
identity of words and hieroglyphs, which shows beyond reasonable
doubt an unmistakable affinity between the written characters
of that region and of ancient China. We have no intention of

28 a study on the yih KiNQ. [January-

“ introducing here long lists of words to illustrate our assertion,
u hut those intersted in the subject will find the question worked
a out in a paper by M. Terrien de La Couperie, lately printed in the
“ ‘ Journal of the Society of Arts/

a But the cuneiform syllabaries have done more than furnish
u isolated instances of identity. A careful investigation into their con-
“ tents undertaken by M. Terrien has been rewarded by the discovery
t( of fragments identical with the Yih king in the Akkadian language.
<e From these it appears that, instead of being entirely a work on
tf divination, or the depositary of any deep philosophical lore, it con-
“ tains syllabaries illustrating the meaning of the word or words
“ following the diagram at the head of each section. Other chapters
“ consist, some of astrological formulae, some of ephemerides, and
“ some of ethnological facts relating to the tribes of the country, but
“ all’taking the form of vocabularies, and therefore insusceptible of
“ translation in the sense in which every commentator from Oonfucius
“ downward has attempted to deal with them. To those unacquainted
“ with the history of Chinese words, it will appear passing strange
“ that in the time of £Jonfacius the original sounds of the written
“ characters should have undergone so complete a change that the
“ text of Yih king should have become unintelligible. Yet so it was,
“ and the truth is confirmed by the fact that successive commen-
“ tators have shown an increasing inability to understand its mean-
“ ing. Not only were the words changed, but the characters which
“ represented them underwent transformations. There can be no
“ doubt that a large number of the characters in the Ku Wan or
“ ancient writing, were used phonetically, and that, after the long
“ night which settled down on literature before the time of Confucius,
“ these, owing to dialectical influences and phonetic decay, having
“ lost all traces of their original value, re-appeared as unintelligible
“ signs on the revival of learning. The history of the first Han
“ Dynasty (b.c. 206-25 a.d.) gives some curious details of the efforts
“ made, at the time of which the historian wrote, to encourage a study
“ of the written characters and to recover the old sounds. A law was
“ made, we are told, that_at the periodical examinations any youth
“ who was able to write nine thousand characters was to be made
“ a royal historiographer, and that those who showed themselves
“ proficient in the six different forms of characters should receive
“appointments as presidents of boards, historiographers, court
“ annalists, and legal historians. It was further enacted, also,
“ that any officia lusing any incorrect characters in an address to the
“ throne was to he degraded. Notwithstanding, however, every
“ effort to recover a knowledge of the ancient characters, there

February.] a study on tfie Yin ktng. 29

u existed so general an ignorance of their sounds, that it became
“ necessary to have recourse to the scholars of the neighboring state
<c of Ts’i, among whom still lingered a tradition of their value.

“ But prior to this, and before the time of Confucius, the pages of
u the historians showed large lucanae, testifying to their inability to
“ reproduce the ancient characters. Already at this period the large
ff seal characters invented by Shi Chow (about b.c. 827-782) had come
“ into vogue, and widely as these differed, we are told, from ancient
“texts which were subsequently found in the wall of Confucius’s
u house, they, suffered a still further deterioration during the T’sin
“ Dynasty (b.c. 255-206), when, in obedience to the necessity arising
“ from further phonetic changes which had taken place, the lesser seal
“ character was designed and brought into general use. Yet another
“ change took place a little later, when the Li shu or official writing
“ was introduced, which again in turn gave place, after numerous
<{ modifications, to the characters as we now have them. Enough has
“ 'been said to show that, far from possessing that immutability
u generally attributed to them, Chinese words and characters have
“ from time to time undergone many and great changes, and viewed
“ in this light it becomes quite intelligible that the Yih king presented
rf difficulties to Confucius which he was unable to explain.

“ Recent scholars have shown conclusively the common origin of
“ the Babylonian and Chinese civilization, and the relation existing
“ between the Chinese and the Akkadian written languages.

“ Abundant evidence might be adduced from the true meaning of
“ the Yih king, to show that this, the earliest extant Chinese work was
“ of foreign origin. The probability is, that the first immigrants into
u China brought it with them from the cradle of their race, or at all
11 events from their latest home. Chinese records speak of Naih-
<( wangti (i.e. Nakhonti) and his immediate successors as the author’s
“ of numerous works, and if we are to accept the authority of the
“ Ts’o chuen, there did exist in the time of Ch'aou kung (b.c. 1052—
“ 1001) works of which they were believed to be the authors, and
“ which were written in a character that was unintelligible to all
“ except a few scholars. We are told that on one occasion the King
of Ts’oo, pointing to an official named I Siang, said, f There is a
“ good historiographer; he can read the “ Three Fun” (said to have
u been written by Mih-hi, Shin nung, Naihwangti), the/Tive Tien”
“ (by the succeeding five Emperors?) the “ Eight Sih,” and the
“ Nine Kew.” ’ And in the official record of the administrative
<( system of the Chow Dynasty (b.c. 1154-255) it is mentioned that
11 the Recorders were charged among other duties with that of

30 a study on THU yih KING. [Jauuary-

“ preserving- the 'books of the three great sovereigns and of the five
“ rulers” ’—Quarterly Review , 1882, pp. 124-133.

It will be very easy for M. Terrien to furnish indisputable
proof in support of his opinion that the Yih King is a monument of
a literature existing in Central Asia before the ancestors of the pre¬
sent Chinese came to China, and was brought with them at the time
of their emigration, or received from there at some subsequent pe¬
riod, but of which fact no record is found in Chinese history or le¬
gend. It is in this way: Are the eight original trigrams, or any, or ail,
of the 64 hexagrams, which are an integral part of the Yih King, found
in the Akkadian syllabaries which have been examined by him ? If
they are then he has only to produce them to satisfy most persons
that this fact establishes the origin of the Chinese figures; for it
would not be supposabie that such arbitrary figures could be found
among two adjoining peoples and not have a common origin. But
if none of the lineal figures are found among these ancient records of
Babylonia then it will be doubted whether the fragments which
M. Terrien has found “ are identical with the Yih King.” The pas¬
sage on the 129th page of the Review does not make it clear whether
such figures have been found or not. We therefore wait with great
impatience the appearance of the promised translation of the Yih King
which is to he made with light derived from these Akkadian re¬
cords. We call M. Terrien’s attention to this particular point, and ask
him to furnish his readers with such figures as he may have found.
The reason why the fragment, iudentical with the Yih King will not
be satisfactory apart from any of the figures is this: The Text of
the Yih is so differently understood by all those who have translated
it that the fragments will not agree with these translations. If M.
Terrien gives us a translation differing yet again from those already
made and agreeing with “ the fragments,” it will not be considered
satisfactory for obvious reasons. But if he can present any number
of the trigrams or of the hexagrams then the matter will admit of
no | doubt.

This would not appear to be the time to express a final opinion
of this book which is regarded with such a high degree of reverence
by the Chinese. Still, while waiting for the promised translation of M.
Terrien and Prof. Douglas, we may make some remarks which will
remain true under every circumstance. The high estimate in which
it is held by Chinese rests upon no solid foundation, for all the
translators agree in the opinion that there is very little of philosophy
or science in its pages. This reverence for it is based first upon the
great antiquity of the figures and their supposed supernatural origin.

February.] a study on the yih kino. 31

second, because of its use in divination and the widely held opinion
that a complete knowledge of it would enable the fortunate possessor
to fortell all future events. By a more influential class it; is held
that it contains ,f a deep philosophical lore ” which would contribute
largely to the greatness of all successful students of its pages. This
impression in regard to it was fixed in the minds of the Chinese by
the saying of Conpucuis : “ If some years were added to myself I
would give fifty to the study of the Yi.” But none of these considera¬
tions commend the work to the foreign student as of special
value. Besides the fact that it has been used for more than 2000 years
for the purposes of divination must lead all considerate minds to re¬
gard it as having exercised but little influence for good upon the
great number of students who, during these long ages, have poured
over its pages with untiring assiduity. It may be most ear¬
nestly desired that some work would be prepared and received by
the people which would be indeed a mine of true philosophical and
scientific lore, and which would come to hold the same place in the
reverence of this people as the Yih King has so long held, and from
which the students thereof would obtain a correct knowledge of
philosophy and science, arts and religion.

We have purposely not spoken of the several translations. In
the nature of things, the usual principles of translation cannot
be applied to writings which are enigmatical and designedly ex¬
pressed in symbolical language. Dr. • Legge says of his first trans¬
lation, made in 1854, “ I endeavored to be as concise in my English
as the original Chinese was. I followed in this the example of P.
Regis and his coadjutors in their Latin version. But their version
is all but unintelligible, and mine was not less so.”—Preface, p. v.
Canon McClatchie says : “This is the key [Comparative Mythology]
which I have applied to open the mysteries of this interesting
Classic.”—Preface, p. v. Using this key to interpret its mysteries
.Canon McClatchie wrote what he conceived to be the meaning
of the enigmatic language. And none will accept his meaning
but those who have the same conception in their own minds.
In regard to the principles which guided him in this translation
Dr. Legge says: “ It is vain therefore for a translator to attempt
a literal version. When the symbolic characters have brought
his mind en rapport with that of his author, he is free to render
the ideas in his own or any other speech in the best manner that
he can attain to.”—Preface, p. xv. A translation made on such a
principle does not give the reader what is written in the original, but
the conception which the translator has of the meaning of the enigma-

CHINESE EMIGRATION.

32

[January-

tical and symbolic language In other words it is an exposition not a
translation. A literal translation of the Yih King would necessarily
be in a great measure unintelligible, because in the original it is en¬
igmatic. Translations made with the view of giving the meaning
of the enigmas will be different, the one from the other, because
each translator has a different understanding of the enigmas.
Readers will accept or reject the several meanings according to their
own conceptions of the original.

A Student.

CHINESE EMIGRATION.

QUR steamer was lying in a port of south China, discharging rice
brought from Shanghai, and taking on board cargo for Europe.
On the morning of the third day numbers of Chinamen, with small
quantities of baggage, began to take up their station on the covered
wharf alongside of which our ship was placed. By about nine o’clock
the wharf was crowded, leaving only room enough for the coolies to
pass along with loads of goods which were being rapidly dropped
down into the capacious hold of the vessel. Till noon and even
later the loading went on, with no interruption other than that caused
by one or two rushes made for the ship by the waiting crowd. These
rushes were promptly met and successfully resisted by the officers
and crew, some of whom, it was noticed, were armed with short sticks
resembling policemen’s batons as to size and shape, but which were
in reality only pieces of fire wood selected from a pile .of bundles which
had already come on board and been stowed on deck. Rough and
ready however as these truncheons were, they did good service, and
though not harshly used, kept the decks clear till the loading would
be completed. Rumour had got about among us, the European
passengers, that the cargo would be all in by sometime shortly after
midday, and we were waiting about to see how our Chinese fellow-
passengers would get on board. About half-past two in the afternoon,
we were suddenly startled by a noise as of hundreds of voices shout¬
ing simultaneously in great excitement, and mixed with it the rush
and trampling of many feet. Hurrying to the saloon door we found
a deluge of frantic men rushing along the planks leading to the ship,
jumping from the end of the gangways on to the deck, and stream¬
ing down the hatchways into the hold, and in a few seconds the flood
of human beings had spread itself over the whole of those parts of the
ship which had been abandoned to it. The clamour and bustle

February.] Chinese emigration. 33

seemed if anything, to increase, and the babel of sounds was deafen¬
ing, coming up even from the under saloon through the gratings .of
the ventilators. The eagerness of the Chinese to get on board was
intense, aud they carried everything before them by mere weight
and numbers, coming in not only by the entrances prepared for them
but pouring over the bulwarks where that seemed a more direct way.
A most easily embarked cargo was this living freight; those on duty
with their short sticks had only to cease defending the ship and in
poured the flood of men. The first thing many of them did on coming
on board, was to throw down a mat on the first space of unoccupied
deck they found, and they would then stand by contentedly regard¬
ing the rash of men with dirty feet passing over their mat, and
trampling it into unsightliness, seemingly not annoyed at the des¬
truction of the mat, as long as they could thus claim for their use
on the voyage the place it covered. A vast deal of bustle took
place in getting on board the baggage they had with them. For
eight hundred men the whole amount was very small, but in the
terrible hurry in which all was being done, the embarkation of the
baggage was a confusing business, all the more so as the owners
seemed anxious lest, when they were engaged over their goods, some
one else should occupy the positions which they had claimed. There
were a good many bamboo chests, but the bulk of the possessions of
these passengers seemed to consist of baskets of provisions, cooking
pots and little stoves, water in wooden casks and earthenware jars,
of which last one broke in coming on board, charcoal, fruit such
as oranges, and, in one or two instances, small coops with live
chickens.

It soon began to appear that the immense hurry and rush with
which all the coming on board had been marked was not uncalled for.
Iu about half an hour, or perhaps forty-fivo minutes after the
gangway had been abandoned to the waiting crowd, the steamer
began to cast off from the wharf and swing out to her anchor. The
embarkation had not yet been completed, but what remained had to
be done by means of small boats, and involved a good deal of
dangerous-looking climbing on the part of the passengers, and a
good deal of troublesome hoisting of their belongings. On returning
to the saloon we found that, while we had been staring at the stam¬
pede, the British Consul had arrived and left cards for the lady pas¬
sengers. As soon as all the Chinese seemed to be on board measures
were taken to inspect them. They were all sent up out of the hold,
massed on one part of the ship, and made, one by one, to pass in re¬
view before the assembled officials, the British Consul standing and

34 Chinese EMIQBA.TION. [January-

counting, himself, each one as he passed, and stopping the procession
now and again to question some boy or other emigrant whose case
seemed to call for remark. The Chinese officials, of whom two were
present, one representing the local land authorities, took the inspec¬
tion more easily, one of them sitting quietly on a folding chair which
his attendants had brought with them, and both of them leaving the
real work of inspection to their underlings. Behind these officials, at
the place of inspection, stood a few Chinese, said to be on the out¬
look for fugitives, but the review passed quietly off and no fault
was found with any of the eight hundred who were leaving their
country. In the whole company there were only three children and
five women, one of these last being recognised by the by-standers as
having displayed great trepidation as she came, with hurrying yet
hesitating step, up the sloping plank which formed the narrow bridge
over the yawning chasm between the wharf and the ship's side. The
passengers passed muster all right. The personal counting even of
the exact British Consul failed to make out one too many, the
doctor detected no symptoms of disease, the sixteen Chinese cooks
were called up and put in an appearance, the cooking ranges stood
in an imposing row close at hand, the other arrangements and
provisions seemed to give satisfaction, and the Customs' officials,
British and Chinese, after making their adieus and wishing us a
good voyage, descended to their boats and pulled away. Getting
up our ladder and anchor wo stood out into the river, and, after
watching the intricacies of navigation in piloting a large ship
through a crowded anchorage in a swift current, we found the shore
of ChinaVapidly receding, and were at full liberty and leisure to
realise our position.

On coming from the north towards this Chinese port rumour
began to be current among the crew that we were to take on some
seven hundred Chinese passengers. Immediately after our arrival
we found the report confirmed, and among the evidences we had of
its truth were men setting up cooking ranges on deck, and a foreigner
engaged with measuring tape and note-hook calculating the
superficial area of the deck and holds, after deducting the space
occupied by steam winches and other encumberances. Report too
had it that for every nine superficial feet of area we were entitled
to carry one passenger, and we soon learned that the inspection and
numbering of the crowd on board resulted in our being declared to be
a few within the number which the vessd might legally carry. And
so there we were with some 798 (seven hundred and ninety eight)
Chinese and 57 (fifty-seven) Europeans—a boatload of 855 (eight
hundred and fifty five) in all. Going down into the hold—the fore-

February-] Chinese emigration. 35

hold especially—was an impressive sight. The whole of the im¬
mense space seemed occupied with reclining human beings, here and
there could be discerned a long line of baggage, the top of which
was also covered with men. The smell was strong, the heat op¬
pressive, and the fluttering of the fans, which every one seemed to
possess, made the place seem as if it were an immense cave whose dim
depths were filled with bats about to take wing when disturbed by the
entrance of the visitor. Here and there might be seen a company
lying round a lamp smoking opium, and as the eye became more
accustomed to the darkness the sides of the hold could be seen to be
hung with parcels and baggage suspended on sticks inserted in the
open plankwork which protects the skin of the ship from being
damaged by the cargo. The passengers were evidently pleased with
their quarters and had laid themselves down over the entire space ;
leaving no lanes for walking, so that comers and goers had to make
their way out and in by treading on their neighbours’ mats. Though
so closely packed, these nearly eight hundred men behaved very
well during the eight days they were on board. It says a great
deal for the peaceable nature of the Chinese, that though they must
have been a great inconvenience to each other, not more than once
in two days did disagreements among them go so far as to give rise
to fights in which wounds were received which needed surgical skill to
dress them. Only one man’s case seemed alarming, and he came along
the deck, as was remarked, “ bleeding like a pig ” from a wound in
the head, and on another occasion, four men presented themselves
together, with bleeding evidences of a fray. All that we could
learn about these cases was that they bad originated in one man
occupying the place or drinking the water belonging to another.
Quite as likely, however, the quarrel arose from gambling, which on
account of being a fruitful source of trouble, was strictly prohibited,
but no doubt indulged in, as it is an amusement dear to the heart of
Chinese under most circumstances, and possessing attractions almost
irresistable to men sitnated as our companions were. Though I
went among them frequently and at unsuspected times, I saw very
little of this vice among them, and it was quite wonderful and
pleasant to see how harmless and quiet these hundreds of strong
men were during the days and hot nights while they were crowded
together in enforced idleness. In the day time they used to swarm
up out of the holds and perch, like birds, on any little projection
or slope that afforded firm footing, and, though most of them were
labourers, a few could read, and some of them I found engaged with
Gospels and Scripture parte, with which they had been supplied

36 CHINESE emigration. [ January -

before coming on board. Aa their language was of the south, and
mine of the north, I was able to hold only very limited conversation
with them.

The only periodical excitement they had was the serving out of
rice, &c., at meals, which was accomplished in an orderly manner by
an arrangement of tallies. One of the sixteen cooks would seat
himself on the rail of the ship just beyond the immense pot, his
back to the ocean and his face to the company, and, as each basket was
presented, he would dig up, with a spade, the proper allowance of
rice, deliver it into the basket, and the bearer would go off seeming¬
ly satisfied. One little excitement, wbicb came in by way of an extra,
was a fall of rain which cleared the decks somewhat, and was a draw¬
back to the pleasure of those who had secured deck places, but it did
little harm, as there were awnings all about and some of the men
actually went and stood under the streams of rain water that poured
down where the canvass collected it.

To the officers and crew engaged iu the navigation of the ship
this crowd of men everywhere among their feet must have been a
great annoyance, but it was very pleasing to see the patience and
gentleness with which the Chinese passengers were as a whole treated
throughout the entire voyage. One day there was an unusual stir
among the crowd and we found that their tickets were about to be
taken. Agents, under whose care, evidently, they shipped, supplied
each man with the necessary paper; it was collected in due form and
found all correct, except in the case of one or two, for whom a
compromise was arranged or for whom a friend paid.

Arrived at Singapore, the officers of the ship having already
collected tickets, the landing of the passengers was a matter which
concerned themselves and their agents only. The agent9 took posses¬
sion of the gangway and collected tickets from the men as they
went ashore, enforcing their demands by physical force when
necessary, one man in particular coming in for smart and rough
handling;

Of the whole company, some two hundred who were bound for
Penang, were let down the other side of the vessel into boats, con¬
veyed away beyond our sight, and, when the steamer was about to
leave, reproduced in the same manner as they had disappeared.
Whether this disposal of our fellow-voyagers was for the com¬
fort and economy of our companions themselves, or to secure the
rights of the shipping agents who managed them, was not quite
manifest.

After passing Penang and getting rid there of the last China¬
man the ship was much more comfortable, and could breathe

February.] Chinese EinGRATiON . 37

more freely. When that crowd was on board the thought would
from time to time arise what could be done with all our passengers
should fire break out or the ship he wrecked? As long as they were
on board it seemed too solemn a subject even to speculate about, but,
after the danger of such a disaster was over, it could be talked
about calmly. The problem to be solved was how to save the lives
of 855 persons in six boatB, the aggregate carrying capacity of
which might amount to three hundred or three hundred and fifty?
What was to become of the remaining five hundred? Some seemed
to think that in the event of being compelled to leave the ship the
Europeans would have, with loaded revolvers, taken possession of a
boat and gone off, but to this there are two objections, first that it
would be too cold-blooded a device to attempt, and second that the
attempt would have been useless—it might he made, but with small
chance of being successfully carried out in the face of a mob so fran¬
tic as our crowd of Chinese would have become if persuaded that
their lives were really in danger. After seeing the tremendous
rush of that eight hundred coming on board when the contention
was only about the choicest place for a week’s bed, no one would
hope to accomplish much by holding out against them when the rush
would be for life. The most sensible theory as to how it would be best
to act should such a dire emergency arise, was from a quiet man, who
said the safest way would be for the Europeans to stand quietly by
let the Chinese take the boats, then, when the desperation was over,
try to make up a raft and so escape.

But considered from any side it is still presupposed that of the
855 a large proportion would perish, and the question arises should
steamers he allowed to go to sea unprovided with boat accommodation
sufficient to float passengers and crew in case of disaster? And be it
remembered that this ship, which went to sea with 850 men and six
boats was, in no particular, disregarding any law. There was nothing
underhand about the arrangement—no evasion of any kind.
There was the previous careful measurement of the space, the notifica¬
tion as to how many Chinese it was lawful to carry, and the careful
counting afterwards-all was done according to lawl But is not the law
deficient? If things go on thus it is to be feared that public atten¬
tion may be called to it by some great disaster; but why should not
such steps be taken as would anticipate the possibility of such a
disaster?

As to the commercial aspects of Chinese emigration much
might be said. There are those who don’t want the Chinese to come
to their country because the Chinaman would reduce wages. There
are others again-—the capitalist for instance—who would welcome

CHINESE EMIGRATION.

38

[Jannary-

him for that very reason, and his plea is that the Chinaman would not
reduce wages so much as draw to and keep in the country, manu¬
factures which have gone or are going to other countries, which can
turn out goods cheaper because wages are lower. The capitalist is
fast inclined to regard Chinese labour pretty much as a new factor in
trade, and, while admitting that Chinese labour would temporarily
affect the existing interests of some classes, just as railways and
power-loom3 affected stage-coaching and hand-weaving, contends
that in the long run cheap Chinese labour would increase the wealth
and prosperity of any country in the same way as they were increased
by the introduction of the locomotive and other steam machinery.
If however any one does not wish Chinamen to leave their country
and invade other countries, let him bear a hand and assist missionary
enterprise in China; for as soon as that great country is Christian¬
ized and enlightened enough to set about developing its resources,
there will be good wages and wealth for the Chinaman at home, and
he will be under no necessity of going abroad. In some places
might Bpring up industrial and mining centres where there are now
only a few goat-herds living in miserable huts, and were the resources
of the country only fairly developed it would not be too sanguine to
expect that three men would be able to live in comparative wealth
where one now drags out his existence in poverty. If therefore any
one has an objection to the Chinaman going abroad let him send
the Gospel to China, as being the most direct way of making that
country so attractive to its inhabitants that they will be likely to
stay at homo.

But there is a distinctly religious side to the question of Chinese
emigration; and it is earnestly to be hoped that if they are permitted
to enter any country they may receive fair and just treatment, and
be allowed to see Christianity bearing itself with a friendly aspect
towards them. Sending the Chinese to foreign countries is doubtless
one of God's ways of sending the Gospel to China, and if even a fair
proportion of these emigrants were to return to their native land
impressed with the sincerity of Christians they had met abroad, and
feeling that they had been treated kindly in the land in which they
were strangers, a powerful gain would have been accomplished
towards the ultimate conversion of China. Nor is it too much to hope
that of those who go as adventurers to Christian lands many
Bhould return themselves Christian, and become sources of Christian
influence to others.

HOINOS.

February.] notes on the history op suchow.

39

NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF BUCHOW.

By Rev. A. P. Parker.

IV.

THE HILLS.

fTlHE hills in the neighborhood of Suchow are invested with consider-
A able interest in connection with the History of Suchow. The
region west of the city, on the shores of the Great Lake is quite
mountainous. The mountains, or, more properly speaking, the hills
vary from 200 feet to 1100 feet in height, according to barometrical
measurement of a number of them that I have made. Many of them
seem to be composed mostly of granite, covered in many instances
with a thin layer of clayey soil which supports a scant growth of
vegetation. In others limestone abounds. Groves of small pine trees
cover the sides of some of them, but there are no extensive tracts
of large trees. Forests would doubtless grow on many of the
hills in the course of time were it not. that the trees are always cut
down for fuel after having attained a few years’ growth. Even the
grass and weeds are taken off for the same purpose, so that the
hills generally present a barren appearance. On many of them
huge boulders of solid granite jut out above the surface, weather
beaten and bare. From many of them, stone of a superior quality
for building purposes is obtained.

Many of these hills are named for various animals. One is called
<( Tiger Hill,” another is called “ Sheep Mountain,” and a kind of
white porcelain clay that is obtained there ) is said to be the
brains of the sheep I A third, having a striking resemblance to a
crouching lion, is called “ Lion Hill.” Two others are said to be
the “Dragon Mountain” and the “Elephant Mountain,” though
not commonly called by these names; but they represent, or are,
the bodies of these animals. On this account stone quarrying in
most of the hills is strictly prohibited—that is in name. It is com'
monly believed by everybody, officials and people, that quarrying
in the hills is the same as digging into the bodies of the animals,
which would, in some incomprehensible manner, bring great cala¬
mity on the country. But I have heard that the fears of the officials
on the fung skui question are very materially allayed by a douceur
from those who wish to quarry stone. As a matter of fact, vast
quantities of limestone and granite are quarried there every year.

One of the most famous of these hills in the annals of the
country Wu, is called Ling Yien (“Spirit Peak”) Hill. It is
situated near the town of Muh-tuh, about 10 miles south-west of
Suchow. There are many ancient remains and historical associa-

40 Notes on the history of scchoW. [Jannary-

tions (•j^f j$) connected with it. On its summit Hoh-lu, the king,
built his summer palace and divided his time between it and his
palace in the city. The following is a translation of what the
History says about.it :—“ It is situated 30 li south-west of the city.
It is 3,600 feet high. Formerly it produced a kind of stone
that was used for making inkstones [a kind of argillite or shale]
hence it was called Inkstone Mountain. According to the History
of Yueh there was a stone wall or fortification on this hill, hence
it was also called Stone-wall Mountain. It was on this hill that
the ’ king of Yueh presented Si-she [the famous female beauty]
to the king of ¥u. There is a Btone image of a horse on this hill
that has the appearance, at a distance, of carrying a rider. Near
by is a stone target. The highest peak is called the Harp Stand.
Fan Chhng-ta says: Looking down from this summit and viewing
the Great Lake and the two F'ung F'eng Islands in the lake, the
appearance is as if showers of green jadite were falling upon forests
of jadestone growing in a world of white silver. Going on east
from the Harp Stand yon pass the Horse Eoad. Still east of this
are three pools called the Inkstone Pool, the Playflower Pool, and
the Moon Pool. According to the History of Wu there is a pool
on this hill that never goes dry, and in it is a kind of vegetable
which if eaten in summer will counteract the heat. Near by this
pool are two wells, one of which is circular and the other octagonal.
The former is named the Well of the King of Wn, and the other the
Well of the Abbot Chi-tsih. South of these is the Han K’ung Pavilion

(lH <5? 13).South-east of this is the Ling Yen monastery, near

which is a brick pagoda of the same name.A little south of this is

the Resounding Sandal Piazza (^f j|t jfjjj})- O a this is

the Hundred Step Street, near which is to be seen the Stone Tor¬
toise and the Stone Lohan [disciple of Budda.] There are tracks
of a man and woman in the solid rock there, which are said to be
the tracks of Fu-ch f ai (king of Wu) and Si-she. On the south of the
street is the Cave of Si-she, where the King of Wu imprisoned Fan-
li (the ambassador from Yueh). On the right of the cave is a stone
image of a sleeping cow. On the right and left were the two oar-
boat harbors, where the king of Wu is said to have amused himself
with the dragon boat. Below these is the Subtle Serene Fountain,
which was opened (^§) by a scholar of T'ai T'sang during the Ming
dynasty. This fountain may be seen at a distance of several li from
the hill. Kao K'i said—The Spiritual Mount [referring to the hill
under consideration] excels in wonders and abounds in beauties, and
Gtands forth as if it were not willing to be placed on an equality
with its numerous neighboring peaks.”

February.] notes on the history of suchow. 41

“ There are also many strange stones on it. But since tlie time of
Kia Tsing of the Ming, many quarries have been opened in this bill,
and three-tenths of these curious formations have been taken away.
In the 41st year of Wan Li a certain official named Ma Cki-tsung
took possession of the rocks in this hill, in the name of the govern¬
ment, and forbade further quarrying or private trade in them forever.
The emperors K'ang-lii and K'ien-lung both visited this mountain
and established temporary palaces on its summit.”

According to the above account, this hill is S,600 feet high. I
measured it with an aneroid and found it to be 557 feet high above
the level of the plain. Quite a difference 1 The Chinese must have
measured, or more likely guessed at, the distance up the side of the
kill. One of the priests in the temple on the hill was very much inter¬
ested in my barometer, and thought it very strange that I could
measure the height of the mountain with it. He immediately jumped
to the conclusion that there must be some occult science connected
with it, and thought that I could also, by means of it, penetrate into
the secrets of the future, for he asked me if I could also tell him when
that place would again revive as a resort for worshippers and plea¬
sure-seekers—when the temples and pavilions, &c., would again be
built up and take the place of the present ruins. He seemed a
little dubious as to my sincerity when I confessed my inability to
tell him the date of tho “ good time coming.”

It is said that the emperor K'ien-lung occupied the Harp
Stand—a flat rock some 8 or 10 feet square—and played the harp
while looking out over the Great Lake. Hence the name. The
mortices in the rock are still there where stood the posts of the
pavillion under which the travelling emperor played the harp 98
years ago. The brick pagoda, above referred to, Was built by Sen
Ch'en-yin in 978, in memory of his sisters, queens of Wu and Yiieh.
The same priest, already mentioned, told me, evidently with tho
utmost faith in the truth of his story, that this pagoda was built by
a fairy all in one night, and that afterward a fairy cut out the insido
rounding it into the shape of a cylinder, and that this also had been
done in one night! The knavery and credulity of heathenism are
astonishing.

The shape of the inside of tho pagoda, evidently corresponded
originally to that of the outside, that is octagonal, and it seems to
have had some woodwork about it, banisters on the outsido and
stairways on the inside for each storey, but it; has all been burnt ox-
taken away, and the projecting corners on the inside have been cut
out, bo that it now has the form of a hollow cylinder. This may have
been done by the priests for'their especial purpose of imposing this

42 notes on the HISTORY 0* suchow. [Jannary-

fairy story on the credulity of the people, and thus gain notoriety
and make money, or it may have been done as a military measure
during the civil war, so as to prevent the pagoda being used for a
lookout station. The pagoda has 8 stories and is about 150 feet high.

Near the pagoda are extensive ruins where stood the palaces of
the kings of Wu and Yiieh, and the “ travelling palaces ” (fT &) of
the emperors K*ang-hi and K hen-lung. A wide paved walk leads up
the side of the hill winch was prepared expressly for K'ien-lung’s
use. On the south slope are pieces of broken-down, walls, around
what was some 400 years ago, an extensive pleasure garden. The
cave of Si Shi is a very small affair—being evidently an artifical
excavation in the solid rock, and only some 12 or 15 feet deep and
abont the same height and width. The stone Lohan is a very
striking representation of a Buddist priest in full canonical dress,
and the belief 13 general that it is a natural formation. But it is
more probable that art has assisted nature in the production of this
wonder. The same may be said of the stone tortoises. Not far from
the latter is a level place called the Earth Drum, because a stamp
with the foot there produces a considerable resonance, as if there
were a hollow space underneath. The Resounding Sandal Piazza
was made by preparing an extensive platform of cedar timber on the
side of the hill, and covering it with earth, so as to make it appear to
be a natural formation. Si Shi and other inmates of the harem were
made to walk on it for the amusement of the king, and it resounded
to the steps of their feet.

In front of the hill is a canal running straight out south
towards the Great Lake. The common name is Arrow Creek,—
because of its straightness. But its original name was the Plucking
Fragrance Way, and was opened by order of Hoh Lii. This king
had flower-gardens on the Fragrant Mountain (f| |Ij) on the shore
of the Great Lake, and was wont to send beautiful women in boats
along the Fragrant Way to bring him flowers from the gardens.

About seven miles S.W. of the city is a range of hills some
three or four miles long, hearing various names. The highest is
called Yao Peak in the History, though it is commonly called the
Seven Sons’ Hill ^ llj) by the people. It is said that in the
time of the emperor Yao, when the floods prevailed, the people of
Wu fled to the top of this hill for safety, hence it has also been
named the Flood-escape Hill. North-east of the Yao Peak is the
famous Hung Shan (§[ ft), to the east slope of which the city of
Suchcw was removed by Yang Soh, leader of the Imperial forces,
about A.n. 585, when the old city was captured and held by
the rebels.

43

February.] notes on the history of buchow.

The most easterly peak of this range of hills is called L6ng-ka
Hill or Shang-fang Hill (J£ -jf jfj). It is about 250 feet high. On
its summit is the Leng-ka or Shang-fang pagoda, a brick structure
seven atones high, -which was built in the 4th year of Ta Yih of the
Sui, a.d. 609. The wood work on it has been long since burned or
taken away. There were a Buddhist Monastery and a temple to the
Wu T'ung Sh&n (3L iS *$) or F^ ve Communicating Gods there,
bat these have been destroyed, and only ruins remain.

The Wu T'ung are classed with evil spirits (f[5 jpf) and the
worship of them is regarded by the generality of the Chinese as
heterodox or superstitious fg). It seems a little odd to find
the heathen Chinese talking about false gods and superstitious wor¬
ship. One would think that where such credulity exists as is capa¬
ble of accepting as true the mass of absurdities and fantastic non¬
sense connected with what are regarded as true and proper objects
of worship, that nothing in the shape of a god could be too foolish
or extravagant to command belief and worship. But it is a fact
that there is a distinction even in China between the true and
the false gods, the true, in general, being only those recognized or
appointed by imperial authority, while all others are false.

The origin of the worship of the Wu T'ung dates from the time
of Hung^Wu of the Ming, some 500 years ago. The emperor Hung
Wu, had a dream, it is said, in which five spirits appeared to him
demanding a gift or benefit of some kind, and he told them to go to
£iang-nan, of which Suchow is the capital, and get whatever they
wanted. They were the spirits of soldiers, and the story has it, that
their appearance to Hung Wu in a dream was something very much
in the nature of highway robbery, and Hung Wu, being afraid of
them, sent them to Kiang-nan to get rid of them. On this dream of
the emperor becoming known, certain Buddist priests, together with
a number of sorcerers of Suchow, took advantage of it and started
the report that the Wu T'ung had come, according to the decree of
Hung Wu, the Son of Heaven. They (the priests and sorcerers)
proceeded accordingly to build a temple for the worship of the Wu
T'ung on the Shang-fang Hill, and gave out that the Wu T'ung
could cast spells over people, and could also bring ricbes and honor
to all who worshipped them and hence must be conciliated by
worship and offerings of money, &c. It was also stated that the
Wu T'ung principally wanted beautiful women for wives in the
infernal regions. Hence when they had selected a pretty woman*
they would throw a spell over her and she would sicken and die, and
her spirit went to be a wife of the Wu T'ung. According to the

44 notes on tee histoey op sucnow.. [January-

History this form of superstition was very rife during the reign
of K'ang-hi 200 years ago, and really serious consequences resulted
from it. It came to such a pass that whenever a pretty woman in
the region around the Shan g-fang Hill fell ill from any cause, usual
or whimsical, the people immediately said that the WuT'ong wanted
her for a wife, and had cast a spell over her, and if she died, the
parents and relatives, instead of mourning her loss, rejoiced that
they had been so distinguished as to be called on to furnish a wife
for the Wu T ? ung, and believed that great prosperity would result to
the family. The people seem to have been completely infatuated
with this absurd delusion, while the priests and the sorcerers reaped
a rich harvest. So serious had matters become, that in the 24th
year of K'ang-hi, the Provincial Governor T'angPing deter¬

mined to put a stop to it. He accordingly had the images pulled
down, the woodeu ones burned, and the mud and stone ones thrown
into Stone Lake at the foot of the hill. He also had the temple torn
down, and the timbers used to repair one of the government school
buildings in the city. There is a long memorial from governor T ( ang
to the emperor, planted in the History, in which he relates with great
disgust, the miserable superstitions of the people, and how that
wicked and designing men had imposed on the ignorance of stupid
men and women ^ j$r) to both get gain for themselves and
corrupt the morals of the people. He states that in obedience to
imperial command he had, at stated intervals, instructed the people
in the precepts of the Sacred Edict [a book containing moral
precepts prepared by the emperor K'ang-hi] and had also done his
utmost in various ways to reform the morals and manners of the
people, having among other things to this end, forbidden women
going into the temples to worship. As a result of his efforts for
more than a year, he had noticed a very decided improvement in
the general conduct of the people,—women had entirely ceased
their visits to the temples, and the sounds of bachanalian revelry
in the public pleasure resorts were seldom heard. He tells of his
destruction of the temple of the WuT'ung, and begs the emperor
to issue an edict forever prohibiting the revival of this wicked
superstition.

Whether the edict was issued or not, does not appear, hut after
the righteous T'ang left, the superstition again became rife, and in
subsequent years was again repressed in a somewhat similar manner.
But it seems impossible to root it out entirely, as there is a temple
to the Wu T f ung still standing at the foot of the Shang-fang Hill;
although the people of the present generation do not seem to be so
carried away by this miserable delusion as their fathers were.

45

February.] notes on the history of suchow.

The Cha Ngoh Hill is 15 li south-west of the city. Its shape
very much resembles a lion lying down, and hence it is commonly
called “Lion Hill.” Wang Liao, king of Wu, immediate predeces¬
sor of Hoh Lii, and who was slain by him {Hoh Lii), was buried on
this hill. On the side of the hill is a large stone that is said to be of
meteoric origin, and to the east is a canal called the “ Fallen Star
Creek.” There is a curious tradition given in the History, and said
to have been handed down from ancient times, to the effect that this
hill once stood in the Great Lake, and that when Yu the Great was
regulating the waters of the empire, he dragged this hill eastward
out of the lake, and placed it in its present position. On the south
and west of the hill, there are said to be two smaller hills containing
stones of the shape of coils of rope, and it is averred that Yu used
these to drag the hill with. Petrified ropes I There is a shallow
place in the lake which is said to be the former base of the hill, and
a long deep place leading from this in the direction of the present
position of the hill, is the ditch or sluice along which the hill was
dragged ! Many years ago there were two rocky prominences on
the hill which were said to he the “ lion’s ears,” but they have been
loug since quarried away

Beside those already mentioned, there are 80 or 90 more prin¬
cipal hills and mountains described in the History, included in the
three districts in which the city of Suchow is situated. These, besides
a great number of smaller hills and peaks all have names derived
from some natural peculiarity, or from some temple built on them,
or from some historical or legendary association. The Hill of the
Goddess of Mercy ^ ill) takes its name from the fact that a
temple to that goddess is built on it. It is also called Whetstone
Hill because stone for whetstones is obtained there.

The Balance Hill (X ill) holds the graves of the Fan (jg)
family of which Fan Wen Chen Kung ($£ ]£ &) was the most

illustrious member, and hence it is now commonly known as Fan
Fea Hill ® & lU) There are many natural curiosities on this hill,
such as the Lotus cave,'the White Cloud cave (a partly natural and
partly artificial excavation in the side of the hill some 20 feet deep),
the Pencil Peak, the Hock Gulch, the Sleeping Dragon Peak, the
Lake View Stand, the Turban Peak, Lake Mirror, &c.,—all of them
curious natural formations, which have been thus named for some
peculiarity in their shape, position, &c.

The Sii Hill (jf jlj) is situated west of the town of Muh-tuh,
on the shore of the Great Lake, and near it is the temple to Wu Tz-
sii, who was executed by Fu-ch { ai, king of Wu, and his body thrown

46 notes on tiie HISTORY of suchow. [Jan nary -

into the canal at that place. Years after his death the people of Wu,
sorrowing 1 over his untimely end, and the calamities which had
befallen the country throcgh the king’s refusal to follow the advice
of the faithful Tz-sii, built a temple there in honor of him and tho
hill takes its name from the temple.

Some 30 li west of the city is the Flowery Hill (L|), which
takes its name from the story that in the 2nd year of T'ai K'ang of
the Tsin, a.d. 282, a thousand-leaved lotus flower grow on it. Near
the Fan F6n Hill is the Gold Hill, where it is asserted that gold was
obtained during the Tsin and Sung dynasties. No gold is to be
found there at present, however. Anciently there were many
natural curiosities on this hill, but they have been all destroyed.
A large part of the hill, which seems to have been one solid mass of
granite rock, has been quarried away. Granite of a very superior
quality is obtained there for building, street-paving, mill-stones, &c.
Hundreds of men are constantly at work quarrying the stone*
The work 19 all done with hammers and iron wedges. A row of
mortices, about a foot apart and one to three inches deep, is made
where a block of stone is to be split out, steel wedges are placed
in the mortices, and the workman strikes them alternately heavy
overhanded blows with an iron hammer having a limber wooden
handle to prevent jarring the hand. After many vigorous blows
have been dealt, the stone begins to split along the line of the
mortices and soon comes loose. They are able to split this stone m
pieces of any length or thickness almost like splitting timber.

About fifteen miles south-west of the city is tho Kfiung-lung
Mountain ^ jfj), which is perhaps the highest hill—1,100 feet
high —and also the most noted place of worship in all this region.
Great crowds of people from far and near go there during the
third and eighth moons to worship at the Taoist temples on the hill.
It is said that Ch'ih Sung-tz (jj; -p) } a rain-priest in the time of
the emperor Shen Nung, b.c. 2,700, (cf. Mayer’s Manual), lived on
this Mountain. On the summit are the supposed ruins of the
Ascending-fairy Stand, and of the Sublimating Elixir Stand ($ ft
^r) where Chhh Sung-tz is said to have practiced his magical arts’
There are several springs in this mountain whose waters are said to
be unfailing. Formerly there was a Buddist temple on the moun¬
tain, but for some reason the Taoists have obtained possession of
the place and have built extensive temples there. On the shore of
the Great Lake not far from K'iung-lung Mountain is the Copper
Well Hill, where copper is said to have been mined during the Tsin
and Sung dynasties.

February.] jbomanish in china. 47

But the time would fail me to tell of all the noted bills in the
neighborhood of this city—of their natural and artificial curiosities,
their ancient remains (* #)> their legendary and historical asso¬
ciations, &c. There are many of them, and the history connected
with them is interesting. There they stand—the everlasting hills—
silent but mighty witnesses of the littleness and the transitory
character of all things human. Magnificent palaces, grand towers,
holy temples and strong fortifications have been built on many of
these hill3 daring the 3,000 years that this country has been in¬
habited by civilized man. But time has destroyed them all, and
only heaps of ruins remain where once shone the splendor of kingly
courts. The buildings that now occupy some of the ancient sites
are mostly but the work of yesterday. A hundred generations of
kings and courtiers, nobles and peasants, have come, played their
little parts, and passed away, but the hills, the handiwork of God,
endure, outlasting the mightiest works of man.

BOMANISM IN CHINA.

By Bey. W. 8 . Ament.

pROTESTANTS may always find something of value to learn
from the history of Romish Missions. Especially is this true in
China, where they have precedence in time and methods of operation.
If anywhere Ro mis h principles have had the fnllest scope for develop¬
ment and their legitimate fruits have been made apparent, it is cer¬
tainly in this Empire. In the space alloted to us we shall endeavor
to present a few facts and suggestions under the following beads;—
I.—What the Romainsts have done in China,
n.—Lessons to be derived from their success or failure.
III.—The attitude which Protestants should have towards them.
1st. It is safe to say that Roman Catholic Mission have done
much in China. There is abundant evidence that at a very early date
Romish priests had penetrated the distant East and brought back
valuable information. Before Marco Polo was born, it was the
Fnar Carpini who gave to Europe the first rational account of the
Mongol nation. Although he personally never visited China, yet he
was the first European to give an account, from hearsay even, of the
“ Celestial Empire ” or to make mention of that mysterious individual
Pbester John. It was a friar Rursiquis who made Europe acquain-
ted with the fact that the Caspian Sea was only a Lake and was not
connected with the Northern Ocean. He also gives quite full infor-

48 bohamsm in ceina. [January-

mation of the Nestorians confirming the witness of the stone tablet
found in Hsi An Fu nearly 400 years later. A writer in the Edin¬
burgh Review suggests that it may hare been about this time that the
Romish priests or the Nestorians, gave to the Mongols their written
language, the alphabet of which is the same as the Manchu and Is
supposed to be of Syrian origin;

But the first systematic missionary effort began with John
Cobvin, who established himself in Kawbalik, the capital of Cathay,
as early as a.d. 1295. Though opposed in a very unchristian way
by the Nestorians, who were powerful in the city, he overcame all
difficulties and secured the final triumph of his mission. The record
of his life, though meagre, shows him to have been a man of superior
talent and courage as well as humility, the three qualities which
combined in him to make a missionary of the kind which poured
forth in such numbers from the Irish and Scotch monasteries of the
Middle Ages. He speaks meekly of his not having heard from
Rome or his own Order for twelve years, and his consequent
ignorance of all Western affairs. He is “gray-headed, hut not
because of age.” He announced to the Pope the baptism of six
thousand persons, who might have numbered thirteen thousand but
for the calumniations of the Nestorians. He built two large churches,
instructed one hundred boys in Greek and Latin, and trained some
to chant so beautifully that the Emperor was a frequent and
delighted listener. Though alone and so variously occupied he
translated the New Testament and Psalms into the Court or Tartar
language, as .well as several devotional works. In 1330 this devoted
missionary died, being Archbishop of Peking. The records of the
future alone will reveal the real value of the labors and sufferings of
this man and his successors. In the confusion and tumult which
followed the dissolution of the Yuan dynasty, the Christians shared
the fate of their protectors and were involved in the common min.
As the new Chinese dynasty, the Ming, desired to stop all communi¬
cation with foreign countries, the mission was finally extinguished
and nothing further was ever heard from the Archbishop and his
associates, and no traces remain of their labors. Perhaps if their
efforts had been expended in converting the common people rather
than in seeking the favor of the great, their good works might have
remained to the present day.

Another period of Romish Missions begins with Matteo Ricci
and his co-laborers, who entered China, at Canton, in 1581. His
restless spirit could not be satisfied until he had reached the
Imperial Capital. This he succeeded in doing after fourteen years
of patient and persevering effort. Here he was successful in carry-

February.] rojiakism in china. 49

ing favor with, the eunuchs, the practical rulers of the Empire.
By his many valuable presents, the songs which he composed and
sung, and by his instructions in geography, clock- makin g, &c., he,
with the other fathers, soon became possessed of extraordinary in¬
fluence, and signal favors were granted to them. Members of the
Hau-lin were glad to work with them and they were on intimate
terms with the literati. A mission was established and many
brilliant conversions took place. All are acquainted with the case of
Dr. Paul, a celebrated convert, a literary man of high reputation,
as well as a fervent Christian, who finally became one of the high
Ministers of the Empire. He was a statesman and author, as well
as a man of eminent piety. “ He had in his palace, a small oratory
fitted up with taste and simplicity, to which he gladly retired in
moments of leisure to devote himself to prayer and meditation; and
regularly every morning, before going to preside in the Court of
Bites, he was in the habit of giving half an hour to pious exercises
in the oratory.” (Hue.)

But the descendants of Dr. Paul have long since fallen into
poverty and apostacy. In 1848 the Abbe Hue endeavored to find
near Shanghai the tombstone and triumphal arch erected to the
great man's memory, but would have failed had not a convert
drawn his attention to a broken pillar, saying, “ This is the burial
place of the famous Dr. Paul, a high minister of the last Emperor
of the dynasty of Ming.” While the Abbe was repeating a prayer
for the dead; some peasants passed by squalid, ragged and filthy,
the remnants of the great man's family. The historian of Romanism
in China does not seem to be sure whether some of Dr. Paul's des¬
cendants were rescued by the Jesuits or not.

• In 1625 the discovery of the Nestorian Tablet was of great
assistance to the mission. In 1628 Father Schall was introduced
to the Emperor by Dr. Paul. The Jesuits hoped that the Emperor
would prove to be a modern Constanhne, but in this they were dis¬
appointed. However, learned Chinese converts were Presidents of
Supreme Courts; besides these there were fourteen Mandarins of the
Han-lin college, ten of the first literary degree, eleven of the second
and three hundred third-class graduates who were received as
Christians in Peking alone. More than one hundred and forty
members of the Imperial family were baptized, as well as forty of
the principal eunuchs. Dr. Leon, a native, was skilled in- most
branches of European learning. He translated the six Books of
Euclid, and published many independent volumes of mathematics.
More than fifty treatises, religious and scientific, passed through his
hands and received the final touches from his pen. But even great

50 romanism in china, [January-

and good men die. “ Few men ” says Dr. Gutzlajpf concerning
Ricci "ever lived wlio did so much in so short a time/’ Fathers
Ricci and Sc hall, Drs. Paul and Leon and other supports of the
work passed away. Persecutions broke ont. Shepherd and flock
were scattered to unite after the storm, or when the Emperor saw
fit to smile upon them. But it is not necessary for us here to enter
upon the history of those- vicissitudes. The crisis was reached in
1724 when Yung Cheng issued a decree against the missions.
Succeeding Emperors followed in the • work of repression and the
mission steadily declined in influence and numbers. It was not till
1780, two hundred years after Ricci commenced at Canton, that they
founded a school to train young men for the priesthood. The
hostile edicts had prevented the increase of foreign priests and they
hoped to train natives for that service. From that time to the pre¬
sent the number of native priests has nearly kept pace with the
foreign.

It is difficult to secure statistics of early Roman Catholic work
in China. It is not till 1820 that reliable information begins
to come to light. By the persecution under Yung Cheng, Du Halds
says that more than three hundred churches were destroyed and
more than 800,000 Christians were abandoned to the heathen. In
1820 we are informed on good authority that there were in China
6 bishops, 23 priests, 80 native priests and 215,000 converts includ¬
ing 7,000 at Macao. In 1839 the number is stated to be 8 bishops^
57 foreign and 114 native priests and 303,000 converts. As reported
at the Shanghai Conference, in 1870, the number of priests, native
and foreign, had more than doubled, being 392, converts 404,530.
In 1881 the figures, said to be correct by the Hongkong Register
were as follows :—Bishops, 41; European priests, 664; native, 559;
colleges 34; convents, 34; converts had increased to 1,092,818.
But what figures can be relied upon? Dr. Wheeler in his Foreigner
in China, for about the same period, reports 460 foreign and 500
native priests and only half a million adherents. But it is very easy
to double or Quadruple the number of converts by counting the
children. No doubt many additions were made to the number of
foreign priests in 1881 by the operation of M. Ferry’s Educational
Bill in France by which more than 800 Jesuits were sent adrft. The
writer is acquainted with one cathedral in North China where there
are twenty-one priests, most of whom are recent arrivals and are
unable to speak Chinese.

But you desire a reply to the question, what have the Romanists
done ? It is not enough to say that much has been done. What
can be pointed to as a direct result of their work, indicating the

February.] romanism in china. 51

lifting up of this people of Sinim to a higher civilization ? Great and
good men have been among them. Some of their scientific works,
perfected by learned Chinamen, have found their way to the Imperial
Library. Some of their devotional works will long be numbered
among the classic literature of the Christian church. Negatively,
they have not given the New Testament entire to the Chinese.
Portions have been translated and expounded. Their best works on
the Bible, according to Dr. Bridgman, are two— Holy Scriptures
Truthfully Explained and The Ten Commandments Correctly Expounded.
Both of these works were written before 1642.

But we ask, what salutary influence has emanated from them as
a Christian Church during their 800 years of occupation? It is a
Romanist traveller who tells us that the 7,000 Roman Catholic Chris¬
tians at Macao are ” as a whole more indolent and more uninteresting
than their heathen countrymen. They are no more cleanly in their
habits, pure in their lives, or industrious in business.” Take a re¬
presentative case in Chihli province. The church was planted by M.
Ricci himself. A. fine cathedral has been erected. They own more
than a thousand acres of land, have an orphanage school for young
and old students, and, most notorious among their pagan neighbors,
they possess more than a hundred horses and mules. One benefit
accruing is that the Chinese are familiarized with the idea of
foreigners, though very few of them ever saw one even in native
dress. The very existence of such an institution must of necessity
have some influence. This influence is apparent in the fact that hun¬
dreds of people almost within sight of this cathedral, are acquainted
with it as the |jg, and could not direct you if you inquired for the
^ Though in some villages the cross is visible over some

chapels, yet the small schools are supported by the Bishop, and the
Christian adherents seldom reach a dozen families. In many villages
the Church is entirely extinct, and in others the followers are the
descendants of Romanists and not recent converts. The writer has
met not a few who had joined the church for no other purpose than to
secure assistance in troublesome lawsuits. Ripa, a Catholic writer,
thus flagellates his own brethren :—“ There is scarcely a missionary
who can boast of having made a convert by his own preaching,
for they merely baptize those who have been converted by others.”
He afterwards assigns another reason for their not preaching better,
saying, that up to his time “few of the missionaries had been able to
surmount the difficulties of the language so as to make themselves
understood by the people at large.” With respect to regions where
Romanists are numerous, we think it may fairly be said that the

52 RoaiANisM in china. [January-

converts are more intelligent than tlieir pagan neighbors. But can
any one, however charitably inclined, with the facts well known to
all before him, say that the teachings of the priests legitimately
developed, tend to lay 'the foundation of a progressive civilization ?
The population of Annam may be called Romanized, we cannot say
Christianized. But in what are they superior to the heathen ?
Contrast them with the Karens of Burmah, who, though poor, have
their own schools and contribute annually four thousand dollars for
the support of the Gospel and who send their own preachers to the
regions beyond. We would conceal nothing that has been done by
the Romanists nor in any wise pervert facts. Their industrial
schools are worthy of praise. Fine buildings adorn most of the large
cities of the Empire. Many of the priests have exhibited remarkable
constancy in danger and persecution. One of their own writers
says, “ If our European priests would conduct themselves with less
ostentation and accommodate their manners to all ranks of society,
the number of converts would be immensely increased. The diffu¬
sion of our holy religion in these parts has been almost entirely
owing to the catechists and to other Christians or to the distribu¬
tion of books in the Chinese language.” It is common to draw an
unfavorable comparison between Romisb and Protestant mission¬
aries, showing the greater self-denial of the former. To be sure
they live, at present, more in the interior than Protestants do, and
return less often to their native land; hut Romish priests are not
supposed to know anything about native land, or home, or friends.
By their vows they lose their identity, changing their name, and
from their youth are educated to know nothing but the Church and
her prosperity. The domestic side of their nature has been, or is
supposed to be, crushed out and can make no demands for itself.
The residences of the priests are plainly furnished, indicating, by no
means an unusual economy, but rather the absence of the judgment,
taste and deft fingers of the gentler sex. We have never yet seen
a priest whose appearance indicated nightly flagellations or whose
penances impeded a good digestion.

.2nd. What lessons can be learned from the history of Catholic
Missions in China ? The danger of compromise with heathen rites
and ceremonies is made very clear. Ricci and others of more recent
times go so far as to allow Buddhist emblems to be put on Christian
gravestones. In the cemetery near Peking these pagan emblems
can be seen on Ricci’s own tablet as well as upon the tablets of
those who recently have died. Although the Pope decided against
Ricci and hi9 co-laborers, and as a result certain changes were made,

February.] ROMANISM IN china. 53

yet enough heathenism has been left in the shape of images, foreign
caudles, processions, Chinese demigods turned into Romish saints, to
nullify any truth which may be communicated. The Sabbath can be
distinguished from no other day in the week only by the fact of
attendance at church service, after which secular occupations may be
resumed as usual. Again, the evil is apparent of endeavoring to
convert the Chinese to a Church rather than to Christ. That this is
a real danger is shown by a writer ou Romanism who says, “ The
experience of the priests has shown that however numerous or
zealous their converts may be, the presence of European pastors and
overseers is indispensable to their spiritual prosperity.” What 300
years of Protestant labor will develope iu China, no one can predict,
but if after three centuries of effort by precept and example, a con¬
gregation or community can not stand alone, when can it do so ?
Protestants may well learn to beware of human artifices to attract;
and emphasize what is better than rapidity of increase, namely
permanence of impression. Such discipleship to Christ, such spiri¬
tual and social regeneration should result from Christian teaching^
that Christianity shall not remain a foreign importation, but shall
become native to the soil in which it is planted, producing its own
institutions and traditions. Dr CaRisTUEB has this sage remark,
“ That we be on our guard not to Europeanize the native disciples
lest we isolate them from the great mass of their countrymen.”
Men should be converted, not to tins ism or to that, to this Church
or that teacher, but to Christ as a living Head. Three hundred
years of such instruction and discipline should give to China
a Church, however large or small, at least independent and
aggressive.

3rd. What should be the attitude of Protestants towards
Romanists ? It certainly cannot be one of mutual fellowship. Let
us first consider their attitude toward Protestants. This i3 seen,
in part, by the issue of a proclamation in 1846 by Lddoyic,
Bishop of Shanghai warning the faithful against reading Protes¬
tant books. A few quotations from this unique production will
indicate the general spirit of Romanism, which is not confined to
China alone. The Bishop writes:—"In the beginning our Lord
Jesus Christ himself established the Church, a most righteous and
perfect Church, one only and not two Churches. He then gave
power to the chief of his disciples, Holy Peter, to receive and pass
on the succession, saying ' I have prayed for thee that God would
forever preserve thy faith/ Therefore his successors have handed
down no other faith, and the faithful everywhere all follow the

54 K0JL&.N1SM in china. [January'

commands of the Supreme Pontiff; on which account all who heartily
unite with the Pope are one; but such as do not give heed to
the injunctions of the Supreme Pope are heretics.” He then pro¬
hibits in strong terms any Romanist from reading these dangerous
hooks, saying “But the heretical books of which we have just spoken
are of one and the same class with corrupt and obscene writings;
and a friend to religion must in no wise either receive them for
personal use or hold them in possession, because all corrupt and
obscene works are of the Devil and both the distributors and
recipients of these works are without doubt the children of the
Devil, and all such will inevitably go down to hell.”. The above
quotations embrace only a small portion of this remarkable effusion.
The spirit of the Inquisition is apparent in every line. The same
Bishop was nob above circulating the stale slander that Protestantism
began with the withdrawal of Henry vnr. from Rome because the
Pope would not grant him a decree of divorce. The most ignorant
Romanist, however little he may know of the tenets of the Church, yet
is acquainted with the above fact, and also that Protestants are
divided into many little sects with no approach to unity. The
writer was once accosted by a priest while strolling outside the wails
of the city of Pao-ting fu ({£ g? $f) who began the conversation
by asking why we came to China. On informing him, he again
asked if we did not know that this province belonged to them, the
Romanists ? He was told that there were a few at least in the
Province who had not heard of Rome or her teachings, or even of the
Lord of Heaven, and it was these we were desirous of instructing.
Other questions were asked cOncering the “little sect” to which we
belonged, but to the question addressed to him as to which Romish
Order he belonged no reply was given. Adverting to the divisions
between Protestants, we mentioned that the history of Romanism in
China did not show perfect harmony among the Orders in his
Church, which are as much “ sects” as the different branches of
Protestantism. Jesuit, Dominicans Franciscans and other Orders
have developed mutual hatreds aud attacked each other with' a
ferocity which history, w r e think, does not reveal among Protestants.
No topic was touched except such as he introduced aud yet through
the whole conversation, there was an ill-disguised contempt for
those who differed in religious opinions from himself.

In the same line of argument is a small pamphlet “ printed by
authority” at Shanghai, without name of author or date of composi¬
tion, entitled Sixty Nuts to Crack, or Sixty Assertions of Protestants
refitted and condemned by clear and express texts from their own Bible.”

February.] rokanism IK china. 55

The author divides all men into Romanists and Rationalists. Not
to follow the Pope and all the rites of the Church is to reject
Scripture and become a Rationalist. It would not be worth while
to notice this pamphlet at this time, only as it seems to illustrate
the spirit of Romanism in China.

Though this may be the spirit of Romanism, shown even to the
extent of refusing to sell their books to Protestants, yet we think
the Protestant attitude should be one entirely different. Nothing
permanent has ever been gained by bitter controversy or bloody per¬
secution. The blood of Sir Thomas More “the foremost Englishman
of his age,” still stains the pages of Protestant history in England.
It is not probable that the Pope will again endeavor to exterminate
Protestantism with fire and sword, as in the days of William.the
Silent. Perhaps hired assassins will never again have state autho¬
rity to destroy the noblest spirits of the age in the name of religion.
But that Romanism and Prostestantism must some day come
face to face and struggle for the supremacy we believe to be as true
of this old world as it is of the new. So long as secular weapons
are not used, the victory must decide for the party which manifests
most perfectly the spirit of the Master. The Chinese are not slow
to draw distinctions based upon our professions and the teaching of
the Bible, nor do they hesitate to openly distinguish real friends
from avowed ones.

Bokyan represents the Pope as a withered, toothless old man
sitting at the mouth of a cave cursing the passers-by. This repre¬
sentation would be more appropriate for the nineteenth century.
Rome is no longer the religious capital of the world. The sceptre
of secular power has passed from the Pontiff’s hands. The Ency¬
clicals are no longer subjects for state debate ancl anxiety. The
friends of the Pope cursed him in making him infallible and show
their faith in the dogma by leaving the infallible one to his fate.
His threat to leave Rome, if executed, would he the confession of
defeat. A new era would then begin for the oppressed millions of
continental Europe and hope would illumine their future. The
nineteenth century, which then being the ending of the old would
also be tbe beginning of the new dispensation, for its missionary
record is already more marvellous than that of any century in
history,

56

IS MORPHIA VOLAT1UZABLE ?

[January-

IS MORPHIA VOLATELIZABLE f

Bv Ds. Dudgeon.

A T the late annual meeting of the Anti-opium Society in London,
the Secretary read a letter from Sir George Birdwood acknow¬
ledging his error iu supposing that morphia was not smokable
because not volatilizable. It was upon this supposed property
that he based his strong assertion of the absolutely harmless nature
of the vice. Until the analysis of Professer Attfjeld, Sir George
Birdwood had vehemently doubted that morphia could be smoked.
He not only gave permission for his letter of retraction to be
publicly read, but at the same time promised to do further penance
by communicating the results of Prof.- Attpield’s experiments to
the Times. The analysis for morphia was made from half of a
wooden seem of an opium pipe brought from China. The pitch-like
incrustation on its inner surface was the substance tested. It was
said to be from the mouth-piece end of the stem. “ The incrustation
resembled, in appearance the hard pitch-like deposits commonly
occurring in tubes carrying the smoke of substances undergoing par¬
tial combustion and partial distillation and was about the thickness of
a shilling. The incrustation consisted of black resens rendering the
operatious for the extinction of any active principle of opium tedious
and troublesome. A substance was, however, finally isolated,
having all the characters of the chief narcotic principle of opium, that
is of morphia. It was in fact morphia/' Such was Prof. Attfield’s
report. Prof. Jamgeb, of Owen's College, Manchester, likewise re¬
ported that from his investigations he was enabled to say in the
most positive manner that in opium smoking there is unquestionably,
an introduction not only of the products of decomposition of
morphia, but actually of morphia itself, into the smoker's organism,
and that opium-smolcing is, as has been generally supposed, but one
form of the opium habit. Dr. Kane, of New York, also sends a letter
to the Anti-opium Society in which he says that a final and conclusive
proof of the volatilization of the active alkaloid of opium in smoking
the drug is the fact that the fluid secretion of opium-smokers con¬
tains morphia in quantity sufficient to readily yield to the commonest
tests, and he adds the further proof that the painful and distressing
symptoms of abstinence from the pipe, yield with the utmost readi¬
ness and completeness to small doses of morphia, i.e. doses about
equivalent to the quantity estimated to be in the system by the
quantity found in the secretion. He calculates the amount entering
the system by the amount in the twenty-four hours’ secretion. This

February.] is morphia volatilizable ? 57

lie baa proved and re-proved repeatedly. He likewise states that
Re veil, a French chemist (quoted by Gublbr in “Principles of
Therapeutics/’ p. 107, found that the smoke of opium when used in
a Chinese opium-pipe “contains almost all the alkaloids of opium
and especially a great deal of morphine.” Dr. Kane also refers to
Dr. Aramand’s use of the opium pipe for the alleviation of pulmonary
affections (quoted by Gublbr) and his own experiments with the
same agent in various diseases, and the experiments of Reginald
Thompson with opium cigarettes, as also the observations of Madigan
on laudanumized tobacco, all of which prove conclusively that
morphia does enter the system in the opium smoke through the
lungs and acts on the system and is eliminated as such in the fluid
secretion.

But after all is it quite certain that morphia is volatilizable ?
Hitherto we have been taught to regard it as not volatilizable.
Is it necessary tTo be volatilizable to make opium-smoking injurious?
Does opium contain no other deleterious substances ? Is morphia
alone the one injurious ingredient in opium ? Could morphia be
extracted from the opium and the opium yet satisfy the smoker’s
craving ? In other words does the habit which requires daily satis¬
faction depend upon the presence of the morphia, and is the yin or
craving formed by this substance and this alone? That morphia
will satisfy if administered by the mouth we know, as witness the
morphia powders and pills of some of the Shanghai druggists which
meet with a ready sale. Are the empyreumatic products of opium,
the result of the combustion and the natural volatile oil which it
contains, not sufficient to account for all the effects of opium smok¬
ing ? But does the presence of the morphia in the crust in the opium
pipe or ashes really prove that morphia is volatilizable ? Is the
morphia not decomposed in the combustion ? Or if volatilizable is it
not probable that it is all or very nearly all inhaled by the smoker,
who draws it in in a series of peculiarly rapid and unbroken whiffs,
much like vigorous snuffing when applied to odours? We are not
told that the smoke has yet been analysed, for the presence of mor¬
phia here would be conclusive. It is to be observed also, and this
is an all-important point and one which has been quite overlooked
in the experiments, that at least 30/ of the prepared extract runs
into the pipe head in a liquid state during combustion and is not at
all consumed, inhaled or decomposed by the first burning. It is
this which makes the ashes of the first burning so strong and valua¬
ble and which alone are able to satisfy the habit of the confirmed
victims. And to make an extract of the desired strength for ordinary

58 is morphia volatilizable? [January-

smokers, preparers of the drug find it necessary to mil in a certain
proportion of ashes. It is extremely doubtful whether there is any
prepared extract sold now which is not so manufactured. I do not
speak of privately prepared drug—the practice here will be guided
by the smoker's views and purse. A habit formed and requiring
to be satisfied by ashes is looked upon with some dread.

We have still our grave doubts about the volatilizability of
morphia, and the whole subject demands the fullest investigation.
To avoid all error a pure specimen of opium, one Indian and one
native Chinese, should be taken, dried to the necessary inspissation,
carefully weighed, smoked in a clean pipe, the smoke passed into a
receiving vessel, where it could be condensed and afterwards ex¬
amined by the tests for morphia. The same process should be gone
through with the ashes—those in the pipe head and the incrustations
along the shank of the pipe. It is to be observed also that East
Indian opium as compared with Turkey opium used in Europe
contains but a small percentage of morphia. It does not pay
European manufacturers of morphia to import East Indian opium.
The native Chinese opium, with which the Indian drug is now so
largely adulterated, is still poorer in morphia. In the Western, and
to a large extent also in the Northern, half of the Empire the native
is exclusively smoked.

In regard to the richness of morphia, the various kinds stand as
follows:—The opium of Asia Minor is equal to that of Europe, yield¬
ing about 15 per cent of morphine. Egyptian opium has usually
been found very much weaker in morphine than good Smyrna.
Persian opium appears extremely variable, in consequence of the
practice of combining it with sugar and other substances. It is, how¬
ever, sometimes very good and does not fall very far short of Turkey
opium. East Indian opium is remarkable for its low percentage
of morphine. The long period—always three to four weeks—during
which the juice remains in a wet state is supposed to exercise a
destructive action on its constituents. The Bengal opium is manu¬
factured so as to contain 30 per cent of wat6r. Turkey opium does
not lose more than about 12| per cent in drying previous to
pulverization and for other pharmaceutical purposes. According to
Eatwell, Benares opium only yielded between 2 and 3 per cent of
morphia. With regard to the percentage of morphine in Chinese
opium calculated on the dry drug, the opium examiner to the Benares
opium agency, Mr. Sheppard, gives for Szechuen opium, 22 ; Kwei¬
chow, 2 5; Yunnan, 4 * I; Kansuh, 5’1 per cent. Dr. Eatwell obtained
in 1852 from dry Szecliuen opium, 33, and from Kweichow opium

February.] is morphia volatilizable ? 59

6‘1 per cent. Dr. Jamieson of- Shanghai has examined a sample of
Chinese opium and he found nearly 7-2 per cent of morphine calcula¬
ted on the dry drug. It is to be observed therefore here that the
drugs prized by the Chinese for smoking are not rich in morphine.
What they desiderate is the degree of solubility and peculiarities
of aroma. Nor do we speak here of the very serious adulteration
with other than opiate substances amounting in many cases to from
30 to 50 per cent. Nor do we take note either of the varying degrees
of inhalation, the deep and prolonged and the rapid and shallow.
These are questions which affect the degree of innocuousness of
the drug in relation to the amount and manner of consumption, not
the presence, or absence, or relative amount of morphine.

We fully admit the ability of the experimenters quoted above
in favour of the volatilizability of morphine. Sir G. Birdwood
himself acknowledges Prof. Attfield’s analysis as unimpeachable.
To him, he tells us, he should send his own specimens which he is
having collected in the far East, and he frankly and promptly con¬
gratulates the Anti-opium Society on the result. He says u it scores
heavily for them and was a compelete surprise to him.” This newly
discovered fact (if such it be) has overturned his life’s experience
and observation and that of his confreres in India. We are not
aware whether or not he has yet published his conversion or re¬
tractation in the Times. From the limited scope for investigation
the admitted difficulties surrounding the subject, the not altogether
satisfactory piece of opium pipe—although stated to be “ from the
mouth-piece end of the stem/’—we should rejoice to set Prof. Attfield
re-investigating the subject. In regard to Prof. Gam gee’s statements,
we should like a detailed account of his positive proofs that morphia,
and not the products of decomposition only are introduced in opium
smoking into the smoker’s organism. Dr. Kane’s statements are
more to the point. If morphia exist in the fluid secretion of the
smoker in such quantity as to yield to the commonest tests, then
this point ought to be easily] cleared up. We do not however lay
much stress on the further proof that the administration of morphia
removed the distressing and painful symptoms arising from
abstinence from the pipe. This might occur without necessarily
supposing the introduction of morphia, qua morphia, into the system
through the act of smoking. Dr. Kane had lately a number of
American smokers under treatment—the vice seems to be progress¬
ing rapidly in the States, so much so that the New York State
Legislature has been obliged to pass a law making opium-smoking,
or the keeping of an opium-smoking place, a misdemeanour, punish-

60 is morphia volatilizabl?? [January-

able by a fine of $500—and in every case he clearly demonstrated
the presence of morphia in the fluid secretion. This statement
therefore seems quite conclusive. In his reasoning backwards from
.the amount found in twenty-four hours’ secretion to the amount
administered, he speaks of the drug as taken by the mouth or sub¬
cutaneously. We wish he had been more explicit and stated
whether in speaking of its administration by the mouth he still
meant smoking, (which is the inference) and not eating. It is
natural that when administered by the mouth or skin, it should
appear in the secretions, and it is also not improbable when inhaled
by the lungs and brought into intimate contact with the blood in
the air passages, its effects should be similar in the secretions, as its
other effects throughout th9 system are analagous to those when
taken by the mouth or skin; but of this I have no personal expe¬
rience. From the different modes adopted in smoking already refer¬
red to, and from the comparatively innocuous effects which for a time
:at least in a large number of cases it produces, very little morphia
or rather very little of the injurious ingredients of opium are
introduced into the system.

Sir George Bibdwood bases his view of the absolute innocuous-
ness of opium-smoking on Sir Robert Christison’s statement that none
of the active principles of opium are volatilizable. In opposition
to this view Prof Attfield writes thus in the Times of 3rd February,
1882 :—“Two facts must be borne in mind. First, active vegetable
principles, such as those of opium, in being heated, yield vapour
having, in most cases, the chief properties of the original principle ....
Secondly, a substance only maintained in vapour at a high tempera¬
ture when alone, may be carried a considerable distance in a current of
quite cool smoke.” In the words italicised, Sir George Birdwood
thinks there is indicated the correct scientific explanation of any
narcotic effect opium-smoking may have. Dr. Birdwood, however,
judging from his own experience and that of others known personally
to him, has come to the conclusion that it has no real narcotic effect
and he has accepted Christison’s statement of the non-volataliz-
ability of the active principles of opium as the explanation of the
non-narcotic effect. He concludes that nothing passes from the
deflagrating chandoo pill into the lungs but the volatile resinous
constituent of opium, and thus he explains how these empyreumatic
vapours protect the mucous surfaces of air passages and check
suppuration when consumption has once set in. He thinks the bad
name given to opium to be derived from the refuse of the opium pipe
which is mixed with hemp, tobacco and nux vomica and sold to the

Februai'y.] is morphia volatilizablb ? 61

poorer smokers. But even in respect of this, lie doubts whether any¬
thing hut harmless smokes passes into the lungs. “ The cachectic
appearance of the Chinese is owing to the general debauched habits
of the lower outcast population of the cities of C hina. ” But the
well-to-do confirmed smokers who smoke all day and night at home
and who never smoke anything hut the first extract, suffer in like
manner. There must, therefore, be something in the opium itself
over and above any accidental circumstances.

Dr. Porter Smith, late of Hankow, says “The burning of the
extract of opium in an incomplete fashion, as is carefully practised
by the Chinese, yields a smoke containing sundry incomprehensible
empyreumatic compounds unknown to the chemist, but producing
by absorption into the pulmonary vessels a stimulant or some
perfectly indescribable effect unknown to all but the actual
smoker.”

Dr. Lockhart formerly of China, supposes that the insoluble
part of the opium contained more than half the narcotic power, and
that the Chinese were extravagant in throwing this away.

Dr. Thudicum states that the experiments of Descharmes and
Benabd shew that in opium smoking a portion of the morphia is
volatilised undecomposed (but how little is contained in East Indian
I have already pointed out) and therefore an interesting therapeuti¬
cal problem has been solved. Here antagonistic ground is taken np
to that supported by Sir George Birdwood, and both views are
published as appendices in Mr. Brereton's Truth about opium! Dr. T.
says the insoluble part of the opium in preparing the extract is almost
inert and valueless. In this respect he differs therefore from Dr.
Lockhart. He says that Shache gives 40 p.c. asthe maximum amount
of insoluble residue in testing opium for it pharmaceutical value. It
contains of the bases all the narcotine and a little morphia. Here
then—of the small amount of morphia contained—a little is lost, with
all the narcotine, which is insoluble in water. The presence of unde-
composed morphia in opium-smoke is to be proved by passing the
vapour through an absorbing medium and condensing the solution
and applying the well-known tests.

Dr. Headland, in his Action of Medicines, tells us that opium
contains other substances which have the same action as morphia.
Codeia is such a principle, but said to be ten times weaker.
ISarcotine, which has been found by some to bo simply a tonic like
quinine and by others as a powerful narcotic, contains about half
its weight of opium, a new alkaloid, which acts upon the system in
the same manner as morphia. The volatile oil of opium which is

62 is morphia VOLATIL1ZABLR ? [January-

isolated with difficulty, appears to be narcotic. Although morphia
is doubtless the chief active principle of opium, nevertheless it can
hardly be the only one. Morphia is about four times as strong as
opium and yet does not form one eight part even of the best
specimens. Smyrna opium, so rich in morphia, contains, according to
the analysis of Mulder, about 11 of morphia in 100 parts, 7 of
narcotine, 1 of codeia, 6 of narceine, and 4 of resin. We must look
somewhere, as Dr. Headland remarks, for active elements equal at
least in weight to the amount of morphia, before we can satis¬
factorily account for the effect of the drag. The narcotic element
of the drug, according to our present researches, may be enumerated
as follows with some approach to correctness:—•

Morphia. 12 per cent.

Opiania. 4 „ ,,

Narcotic volatile oil.... 2 „ „

. Narcotic resin. 4 „ „

The same author states that morphia is not volatile, so the smoke of
burning opium cannot contain it, but it contains a volatile oil which
is natural to the drug and an empyreumatic oil resulting from the
combustion of the morphia, narcotine, etc. Thus its action is in
nowise to be compared with that of opium taken into the stomach
in its original form.

Dr. Sir Robert Christibon says morphia is very little soluble in
water. It melts at a gentle heat, a stronger heat reddens it, then
chars the fused mass, white fumes of a peculiar odour are disengaged,
and at last the mass kindles and burns brightly. Morphia being
nearly insoluble in its solid state it bas little effect. When dissolved
in alcohol for example, it excites the same symptoms as opium.
Hence the danger, in cases of opium-poisoning, where persons resort
to alcoholic drinks afterwards. Codeia is a soluble narcotine insoluble
in water. In the preparation of the watery extract, the active
principle, morphia forms with the resinoid matter of the drug,
a compound nearly insoluble iu all ordinary menstrua. If correct, this
is a most important observation. Opium, he says, is known to be decom¬
posed by such a heat as is necessary in the process of smoking a pipe,
neither are any of its active principles volatilizable, and he adds,
several of my pupils have tried the process with a Chinese pipe and
Chinese extract, but experienced no other effects then severe head¬
ache and sickness. On account of the insolubility of morphia its
intensely bitter taste is slowly developed. Boiling water dissolves
only a 500th of its weight of it, and on cooling, deposits it almost
entirely in minute spiculae. It fuses at a temperature somewhat

February.] is morphia volatilizable ? 6?

over 250°, and at a still higher heat it is destroyed with the
disengagement of smokey vapours haying a peculiar odour like that
of truffles.

Taylor says, the poisonous salt of opium, meconate of morphia,
is soluble in water. Extract of opium may be regarded as a pure
form of the drug. It contains a larger proportion of the poisonous
alkaloid morphia. Morphia is scarcely soluble in cold water,
requiring 1000 parts to dissolve it; it is soluble in 100 parts of
boiling water. Mecouic acid serves to render morpliia soluble in
water and other menstrua. It is dissolved by 125 parts of cold
water; it is much more soluble in boiling water, but is in great part
precipitated on cooling.

Dr. Boyle says that in the preparation of laudanum some
morphia is contained in the residuum and has been separated by Dr
Pareira. Mr. Haden used to make a substitute for liquor opii
sedatives by macerating the lees with tartaric acid. M. Martin, by
fermenting the lees with sugar, obtained an extract possessed of
narcotic properties. The Chinese at the present day rub up
their opium ashes with treacle and re-smoke it. Water, either
tepid or warm, dissolves about two-thirds of good opium and forms
a solution of most of its active principles. Rectified spirit takes up
four-fifths of the whole mass including all the active properties of
opium. In the watery extract, the parts soluble in water with a little
of the resin are taken up, and the insoluble with some active princi¬
ples are left behind. The brown acid extractive is a mixture of
several substances, perhaps the result of some changes which have
taken place. It is supposed to possess some of the narcotic pro¬
perties of opium. Meconic acid is soluble in water, and when this
solution is boiled it is decomposed into carbonic acid and metame-
oonic acid. The proportion of meconic acid is differently estimated,
the Garde Patna abounding, it is said, in this substance. The
proportion in which the several crystalline principles of opium
exist, seems to vary in different kinds of opium. This is an impor¬
tant practical subject in relation to the widely different actions
possessed by the several principles on the animal body. The
morphine in opium is combined with meconic acid and is therefore
easily soluble in water. There are exceptional cases in which it is
asserted that water does not take up the whole amount of morphine.
Meconic acid is itself inert.

Such is the evidence we have been able to collect regarding this
subject. The question is not free from difficulty, but we hope analysis
will soon set this vexed question at rest.

G4

CORRESPONDENCE

[January-

©flrmjmtirme.

Anti-Opium Prayer Union.

Mr. Editor—

I wisE to call the attention of the readers of the Recorder to
the accompanying statement of the formation in London of an
"Anti-Opium Prayer Union” I feel assured that all the mission¬
aries in China, who are so fully acquainted with the evils of the use
of opium aud the demoralizing influence thereof in China, will hail
with thanksgiving the formation of a union to pray for its removal.
An English newspaper in referring to the matter says:— "We
welcome the formation of an Anti-Opium Prayer Union. From
the circular sent to us we extract the following :—‘ The injustice
of our opium trade with China is no new' subject. So long ago as
1842, the Earl of Shaftesbury (then Lord Ashley) called the atten¬
tion of the House of Commons to it. Since then forty years have
passed away, and, though there have not been wanting able men to
protest against it, the trade still continues. How shall we account
for this failure ? Is not one great cause to be found in the want of
earnest united prayer for the abolition of the trade ? " We have

not, because we a9k not.” Each year makes the need more press¬
ing, and the wrong more irreparable. Tear by year the deadly drug
is poisoning the very life-blood of the Chinese nation. Year by year
those same Chinese are emigrating to other la nds, and spreading the
plague as they go. In Australia, in California, and even in the
very heart of London, these festering spots are to be found. Year
by year England becomes more deeply involved in the trade, and
year by year it is more difficult for her to extricate herself from the
web of her own weaving. Year by year it becomes more likely that
the Chinese will, in self-defence, develop the home-growth of opium,
and cut us out of the market, thereby forever depriving us of
the opportunity of doiug an act of common justice in abandon¬
ing the traffic. It is with a view to meet in some measure the need
for prayer felt by many who are interested in the cause, that the
"Anti-Opium Prayer Union” has been formed. Members agree to
remember the subject in prayer at least onco a week (on Thursdays),
and to seek to interest others in the cause. The need for prayer
seems to be twofold : (1) Prayer for the abolition of the trade. (2)

Prayer for God's blessing on the great work of arousing the public
conscience. Those who wish to become members will receive a card
of membership on sending their name and address to the Secretary

February.] correspondence. 65

of the “ Anti-Opium Prayer Union/’ 312, Camden Road, London,
N. The Secretary will also be glad to supply further information
about the opium trade to any who desire it / ”

It is not necessary to inquire now whether the efforts hitherto
made to arrest this evil have failed because of the absence of earnest
prayer to Almighty God to bless the efforts put forth or not. This
we do know that evils from the growth and consumption of opium
are so great that they are beyond the power of human wisdom and
power to remove. The interests of this great trade are so wide¬
spread and so mixed up with the commercial and financial measures
of two great kingdoms that they are beyond removal by the counsels
and wisdom of statesmen. “ Man’s extremity is God’s oppor¬
tunity.” Our God is he who doeth wondrous things. What human
wisdom and device cannot effect he can easily effect. He says “ call
upon me in the day of trouble and I will hear .” Let the whole
body of missionaries, with one heart and mind join this Prayer
Union to pray for the removal of the growth and consumption
of opium. Let us not only ourselves join with those in England
who thus pray on every Thursday; but let us state the matter to
the native churches and secure the whole body of native Christians
to join in this concert of prayer. Let the matter be published in
every Chinese paper that the attention of all may be called to it.
In answer to prayer it may please God to use the existing plans
and means for its removal. Or in his wonder-working power
he can easily call into existence other instrumentalities which he
can make efficacious. It is our privilege and duty to pray and
trust God to accomplish his own holy and good purposes.

I hope some one at every station will be at the trouble to-
forward the names of all who wish to have a card, that cards may
be sent to them. And perhaps the -missionaries in Shanghai would
take immediate steps to get out a card in Chinese to be circulated
among the Chinese Christians. A Missionary.

Notices of Recent Publications.

Mr. Editor—

I have had it in my mind .for a long time, to write to you some-
thoughts in reference to one part of the Recorder, which is of special’
interest to many of us; I refer to the notices of books. There
appears to be two prevailing modes of noticing books. One of these-
is to give the title of the book and to use it as the opportunity of
discussing the subject referred to in the book, without presenting
any clear statement of the views presented by the author of the
book, or the reasons which he presents to sustain them. Or, some
times, the conclusions of the author are discussed,and controverted"

66 correspondence. [January-

without having previously stated, them. This method of noticing a
book takes it for granted that the reader has either read the book, or
has it in his possession to refer to. This manner, of course, has its
advantages. It gives the writer the opportunity of stating the
objections to the views of the author and of presenting a different
view of the subject. This will help the author to see wherein his
views have not been clearly presented and wherein they may be
regarded as erroneous in fact, or in the reasons which he has given
to sustain them. It is also adapted to help the readers to form an
opinion of the merits of the work, or to guard them against
its errors.

The other plan of noticing books is so to notice them as to
give those who have not seen the books a correct idea of what are
the contents of the works; and how the authors have carried out
their purpose in writing them. This method has special advantages
for missionaries. Most of us are so situated that we have not the
opportunity of seeing new books as they come out. We may see
the names of them in newspapers. The names may attract our
attention. The book may be on a subject in which we are interested
and concerning which we may wish information. But merely from
the title of the book we cannot tell in what way the author has
treated the subject; we canuot know what views he has advocated
or controverted. In these circumstances, the great desideratim
to many of us is to know ichat points the author has discussed in any
book and with what ability he has done his work. When the con¬
tents of the books are stated in detail we can see at once if the
particular matter in regard to which wc wish information is referred
to or not, and when some one in whose judgment we can rely states
that the writer has presented a fair and able discussion of a subject
we can at once select the books that we wish to purchase. For
myself I have often been disappointed in sending for a book, the
title of which led me to suppose it would give me information on
a subject I was investigating. But when it arrived I found the
author had treated the subject in an.entirely different manner from
what I had expected he would, and hence I found nothing in it on
the point I was seeking after. For these reasons many of the
readers of the Recorder wish that the notices of new books would
give ns clear and correct statements of what subjects are discussed
in the books and the ability of the discussion, rather than give any
statement of the views of the writer of the notice. We wish to know
what the book says. In. behalf of myself and of those who think
with me I state my wishes that you may be able to meet our wishes
and give us the information that we need, A Missionary.

February.]

MISSIONARY NEWS.

67

31 winning ftefog.

Parria#tf & §mu.

BIRTHS.

At Hangchow, on January 3rd, the
wife of Ven. Archdeacon MotrLE, C.
M. S., of a son.

At Hongkong, on January Sfcli, the
wife of Rev. R. Ott, Basel Mission,
of a son.

At Soochow, on January 23rd, the
wife of Rev. G. F. Fitch, American
Presbyterian Mission, of a son.

MARRIAQE8.

At Singapore, on November 22nd,
1882, by the Rev. \V. Aitken, the
Rev. J. A. B. Cook, English Pres¬
byterian Mission, Singapore, to Miss
Henry.

At Union Church, Hongkong, on

November 27th, 1882, by the Rev.
J. Colville, the Rev. John Watson,
If.A., English Presbyterian Mission,
Amoy, to Miss J. B. Hill.

At Union Church, Hougkong, on

November 27th, 1882, by the Rev.
J. Colville, the Rev. W. Riddell,
M.A., M.B., of Euglish Presbyterian
Mission, Swatow, to Miss F. Spark.

At Union Clmpel, Hongkong, on

November 27th, 1882, by the Rev.
J. Colville, Peter Anderson, L.R.
C.S. & P., Ed., English Presbyte¬
rian Mission, Tai-wau fu, to Miss J.
Gardiner.

At the British Consulate, Chinkinng,
on January 5th, 1883, by the Rev.
Marcus L. Taft, Rev. Robt. E.

Abbey and lira. Louise S. Whiting,
Am. Presbyterian Mission, Nanking.

At St. John's College, Shanghai, on
January 27th, by the Rev. Y. K. Yen,
the Rev. F. R. Graves to Miss J. H.
Roberts, Am. Episcopal Mission,
Wuchang.

DEATH 8.

At Amoy, on October 13th, 1882,
Isabella Primrose (Rosie) daughter
of Rev. Robt. Gordon, English Pres¬
byterian Mission, Amoy, aged 4
years.

At Tientsin, on December 22nd, 1882,
sou of Rev. W. H. Shaw, aged about
six months.

At Hangchow, on January 4th, 1883,
Cecil Wigram, infant son of Ven.
Archdeacon and Mrs. MouJe, C.M.S.

Aruivals. —Per str. Oxus, on Janu¬
ary 7th, from Europe. Rev. and
Mrs. Jackson, China Inlaud Mis¬
sion, Kiakiang. .

At Hongkong, per str. Amasone
on January I5th, frotn Europe, the
Rev. Immanuel Geneeliv, Rhenish
Mission, Hongkong.

At Shanghai, per str. Amazone,
on January 21st, from Europe, Rev.
F. James, English Baptist Mission,
Chefoo.

At Hongkong, per str. Hesperia,
on January 23rd, Rev. T. and Mra.
Hartmann and child, to take charge
of the Berlin Foundling Hospital;
and Miss Anna Schnaebeli, for
same Institution.

At Amoy, in January, Rev. W. R*
Thompson, M.A., and wife, English
Presbyterian Mission, Tai-wan foo.
Formosa; Miss G- Meclagan, Eng.
lisli Presbyterian Mission, Amoy.

At Shanghai, per str. Hiroshima
Mum, on February 10th, from
United States, Rev. J. S. Johnson,
Southern Presbyterian Mission.

Per str. Gleneagles, on February
16th, from Europe, Mr. and Mrs. S.
Dyer, Mr. F. Hermon, and Mr. F.
Brown, British and Foreign Bible
Society.

Per str. Bokhara, on February
21st, from Europe, Rev. J. C. and
Mrs. Hoare, C. M. S., Ningpo.

4 *

*•

Dbpartcrrs. —Per str. Mirzapore, on.
January 3rd, for London, Rev.T. and

MISSIONARY NEW8.

68

Mrs. Bryson and family, London
Mission, Hankow. Home address :
21 St. John’s Street, Bedford.

Per str. Achillas, on January 2nd,
for London, Rev. J. S. Fordham,
Wesleyan Mission, Hankow.

Per stv. Rome, on January 17tli,
for London, Rev. C. B. Nash, C.M.
S., Hangchow.

Per str. Ganges, on February 14th,
for London, Rev. F. R. nod Mrs.
Graves, Am. Episcopal Mission,
Wu-chang.

Shanghai. —The thirteenth annual
meeting of the Central China Mis¬
sion of the American Presbyterian
Church north, was held at Shang¬
hai on January 27tb, 29th and 30th.
Rev. J. H. Judson was elected
Chairman, and Rev. J. N. Hayes,
-Temporary Clerk. Reports from
each of the stations occupied by
this mission were read, which
showed that a fair amount of pro¬
gress has been made in all depart¬
ments of work. The Churches are
prosperous and some of them are
self-supporting. The schools both
boarding and day are successful
and well filled with pupils. There
are a few candidates for the minis¬
try. This mission is now well
■equipped for the prosecution of its
work. Five men have joined it dur¬
ing the past fifteen months.

We learn from the Missionary
Reporter, published by the Board
of Managers of the Seventh-day
Baptist Missionary Society, U.S.A.,
the first No. of which has just reach¬
ed us, that Miss Ella F. Swinney,
M.D. of Smyrna, Del., has been
appointed a Medical Missionary to
China. Rev. D. H. Davis has been
-authorized to establish a boarding-
• school for boys and girls.

[Jamiary-

Rev. J. H. Taylor, Director of
tho China Inland Mission, left Che-
foo for England on February 6th.

Wo Iearu from a correspondent
that the missionary troubles in Tsi¬
nan fu are as far as ever from being
settled. The convert who fled to
Peking in the Spring, and who
went back a few weeks ago, has
returned, having received private
information of designs upon him.

Wo would draw the attention of
students and others to an advertise¬
ment on our cover announcing that
the second edition of Dr. Williams’
Dictionary is now ready. Perhaps
it is hardly correct to call it a
“second edition,” seeing that it is
printed from electro- and stereo¬
type plates. But we learn that
some 300 or more pages of the first
printing have been revised by the
learned author and new plates made.
In addition, a large number of
wrong characters occurring in the
other plates, have been weeded out
and the two pages of errata, with a
few exceptions, corrected. Three
pages of new “ Errata and Correc¬
tions” will be found at the end of
the second edition, which the Dr.
introduces with the following re¬
marks “Since the issue of the first
edition of this book in 1874, its
merits have been fairly discussed,
its deficiencies pointed out, and
its errors set forth by several
friendly critics and scholars. Tbeir
suggestions will he usefnl to those
who may, by and by, undertake a
similar work. From tbeir remarks
the following list has been mostly
selected, as containing the errors
most desirable to be corrected. As
their notices are scattered here and
there, their intentions in making

MISSIONARY NEWS.

February.]

them will be promoted by bringing
them together. In respect to the
explanation of the construction of
characters, a reference may be made
to page xlriii of the Introduction,
where the object is stated ; some
mistakes were made in discriminat¬
ing the component parts, bot the
main design was to hid beginners
to remember the leading portions
of characters, rather than to give
all their etymologies. In addition
to the dialects given in the Index,
Miss A. M. Fielde, of the American
Baptist Mission at Swatow, has
published a complete list of the
sounds of all the characters in that
dialect including many variants;
and Mr. James Aeheson, of the
Imperial Customs, has issued an¬
other list giving the Peking sounds
according to Sir T. F. Wade’s
Progressive Course. All sinologues
will be thankful for these lists.
A full collection of the vocables in
the best defined and leading dialects
in the empire will furnish accurate
materials for comparisons and de¬
ductions, which may enable some
philologist, like Grimm or Whitney,
to ascertain the genesis of Chinese
pronunciation, and the laws which
govern its perplexing changes.”
The new issue of 750 copies, of
1338 pages each, or in all 1,003,500
pages, has been put through the
press with creditable celerity, hav¬
ing only occupied some eighty
days. The work looks well and
reflects credit on the American
Presbyterian Mission Press, who are

the printers and publishers.

$ *

#

Nanking —The Southern Presby¬
terian Mission have decided to open
a station at Nanking, and the Revs.

69

G. W. Paiuter and S. Woodbridge
have been appointed for that place.
At present they are occupying the
China Inland premises kindly lent
by that mission.

JAPAN.—We learn from theLoiulon
and China Express that at a re¬
cent meeting of the committee of
the Church Missionary Society in
London a letter was read from the
Bishop of Ohio, dated November
14th, 188*2, enclosing resolutions
of a commission, appointed by the
General Convention of the Protes¬
tant Episcopal Church of America,
in reference to the proposed Japan
Bishopric. This suggested measure
for avoiding any appearance of
conflict or confusion in the juris¬
dictions of the present American
Bishop at Tokio and of the
proposed English Bishop—in parti¬
cular, that the American Bishop
should remain at Tokio, and that
the cities of Osaka and Kiyoto
be common ground for missionary
work of both Churches, no Bishop
having residence in those cities.
The secretaries were directed to con¬
vey to his Grace the Archbishop of
Canterbury the readiness of the com¬
mittee to acquiesce in the proposals
of the American Bishop respecting
the Japan Bishopric.

*.*

ENGLAND.—“A deeply-interest-
ingevent,” says the Church Mission¬
ary Intelligencer , “took place at
Cambridge on December 7th—'the
baptism of a young Japanese study
ing there, named Wadagaki. He
was baptized at Trinity Church by
the Rev. H. C. G. Moule, Principal
of Ridley Hall, and received the
Christian name of Nathanael.”

70

NOTICES OP RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

[January-

ffoto b! fucEitf ||uWicfftw.

The Origin of Nations. In two parts: on Early Civilizations; on Ethic
Affinities, etc. By Georgs Rawlinsou, M.A., Camden. Prof, of Ancient
History, Oxford.

The author, in his Preface, gives
the reasons for preparing these
Essays thus:—“ As attacks on the
credibility of the Bible — more
especially of the earlier books—are
now frequently made, not merely on
scientific, but also upon historical
grounds, it seemed desirable that
one whose business it is to make
himself acquainted with all the as¬
certained facts of Ancient History,
should state his impressions with
regard to the bearing of modern
discoveries in the historical field
upon l he authority of the Scripture
narrative. Such a statement the
present writer made sixteen years
ago in his contribution to the
volume entitled, Aids to Faith,
when lie summed up his views
in these words:—‘There is really
not a pretence for saying that recent
discoveries in the field of history,
raonumeutal or other, have made
the acceptance of the Mosaic narra¬
tive in its plain and literal sense
any more difficult now than in the
days of Bossuet or Stilliugfleet.’

In the interval between 1861 and
1877, much has bceu written in
disproof of the above conclusion,
and it has been the unpleasant
duty of the present writer to peruse
the works as they appeared, and
to weigh the arguments employed
by them. Of these arguments two
only seemed to him to require an
answer, one based itself on the
supposed historical certainty of a
settled monarchy having existed

in Egypt from at least B.c. 5,000—
a fact, if it were a fact, incompati¬
ble with the chronological notices
of the Pentateuch. The other was
more general. It asserted the very-
early existence of civilization in
varions parts of the world; and
assuming the unproved hypothesis
that man was originally an absolute
savage, it required our acceptance
of the belief that some such space
as a hundred years must have
lapsed from the first beginnings
of man to his development into his
present civilized condition."

The Essays on civilization are
directed to these two lines of reason¬
ing. The author is of the opinion
that there is do sufficient evidence
of a settled monarchy in Egypt
prior to about B.c. 2,500 ; and he
has endeavoured to set before the
public the grounds of his belief
od this point. He is further of
the opinion that civilization can
uowliere be traced back to a date
anterior to this; and he has sought
to prove bis point by a general
survey of the aucient civilizations.
Finally, regarding it as a pure
assumption that the primitive con¬
dition of mankind was one of
savagery, he has endeavoured to
show reasons iu favour of the op¬
posite hypothesis, that man’s primi¬
tive condition was one very remote
indeed from savagery, and contain¬
ing many of the elements of what
is now termed civilization.

The Author has thus clearly Btat-

February.]

NOTICES OP RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

71

od tlie object be bad in view in
preparing the essays. He has very
ably and successfully carried out his
purpose. All who are interested in

such inquiries will find the work
very satisfactory. Wo cordially
commend these Essays to any who
may have doubts on these points.

The China, Review. November and December, 1852,

This number of this well-conducted
periodical sustains its well-earned
reputation. The article of greatest
interest is the first one, which gives
extracts from the Diary of Tseng
How-yeh, China Minister to Eng¬
land and France, by J. X. Jordan.
This gives ns some insight to the
subjects that engage the thoughts
of Chinese statesmen. The most
.remarkable extract is that beaded
“Proposals for the advancement of
China in her relations with other
countries.” There are some six
propositions. (1) The necessity of
contracting a firm alliance with
England for the purpose of repell¬
ing Russian aggression. (2) The
importance of adopting an honest
policy and manifesting a straight¬
forward course of action, with a view

as a consideration of practical ques¬
tions both in reference to inter¬
course with foreign nations and one
of ioternal administration. The
writer of the propositions takes it
for gran ted that the stoppage of the
opium trade is for the best interest
of China He also implies that the
hindrance to its stoppage comes
from the English. He says China
has never hit upon a fixed or effec¬
tive method of dealing with this
question. When the matter has
been pressed with urgeucy it has
resulted in a rupture of relation;
when it has been dealt with leisure¬
ly, it lias been gradually allowed to
drop altogether. Opium being a
great staple of their commerce, it is
not to be expected that British mer¬
chants will willingly sacrifice the
certainty of present gain for the

to removing feelings of mutual dis¬
trust. (3) I he necessity of mak- sake of a profitless reputation in the
ing use of our leisure moments to future. Western nations simply look

meet Western scholars, with a view
to obtaining information from them

at it as a question of gain, and if
England could be induced tosubsti-

(4) Hie advisability of keeping tute the cultivation of cotton, tea, or

ourselves informed of the price
and quality of Western mechanical
appliances, so as to avoid falling,

silk for that of opium, there might
perhaps be some hope, provided she
obtained an equivalent profit by her

victims to fraud in purchasing (hem. ! changing her course of action.”

(5) The translation of treaties on [ In reference to the above proposi-
foreign systems of government, with i tions, the minister says, “Of the
a view to the adoption of what may above propositions the first, which

be found useful therein. (6) The
arrangement, in the interests of
China, of some satisfactory under¬
standing with England for stoppage
of the opium traffic.” These show
a wide range of investigation as well

deals with the relation towards Eng¬
land and Russia itcanriot be accepted
in its entirety ; and as to the sixth,
respecting the suppression of the
opium trade, there will be difficulty
in attaining such an immediate and

NOTICES QP BECENT PUBLICATIONS..

72

successful solution of the question
as is there indicated. 1 '

It is a distressful thought that
Chinese statesmen are made to feel
that they have nothing to expect
from the sense of justice or benevo¬
lence of Western nations, but that
the couviction is forced upon them
by intercourse with Western lands,
that they are influenced in their
international policy by self interest’

A very intelligent opinion iu
regard to educational projects is
expressed under the fifth proposi¬
tion. The writer says:—“In my
humble opinion, however, a nation’s
prosperity or decay is determined
by the character and talents of its
people, and these again are qualities
which depend in a great measure
upon the early training imparted
to its youth. As in China of old, so
in Europe at the present time,
there are preliminary schools to
which children are sent at an early
age. We have, it is trne, at this
very time an educational mission
abroad, but the expense of its main-
tenance is too great to be continued,
and the education imparted to a
hundred youths or so cannot per¬
meate the masses of the people. A
better plan would be to make trans-

[Jauuary-

lations of the educational curricu¬
lum used in schools and colleges in
the West, and establish schools,
first at the Treaty Ports, and theu
gradually all over the Empire
where young people might be
trained upon the system practised
in olden times with a slight admix¬
ture of foreign methods. The ex¬
pense would be less than that of the
Educational Mission, and the ad¬
vantages would be immeasurably
greater. Education is the basis of
state administration, and its success
is essential to the establishment of
proper Government.”

These are statesman-like views, 4
and all the well-wishers of China
will hopo that they may be soon act¬
ed upon. There are other intelli¬
gent opinions expressed on matters
of public interest which we would
gladly transfer to ourpage9, but we
must refer our readers to the article
itself.

The paper of the Rev. R. Eichler,
on the Practical Theology of the
Chinese, is completed in this num¬
ber. The interest continues to the
end. The other papers of this in¬
teresting number are on a variety
of subjects aud of varied interest.
We refer onr readors to the pages
of the Review for tbera.

The Geography of India. By Rev. R. H. Graves, D.D.

This is one of the series of school
books which is being prepared
under the supervision of the com¬
mittee appointed by the Missionary
Conference in 1877. All the mis¬
sionaries will rejoice in the appear¬
ance of this volume of the series as
a valuable assistant in imparting a
knowledge of the geography of the

land of India iu schools and to
classes of theological students. We
commend it warmly for use by all
missionaries. It is on sale at the
Mission Press, Shanghai, and at
Canton by the author. There are
two editions of a large, and a smaller
size; the smaller size has questions
at the end of such chapter.

THE

mUnrn

/a\ l. u

AND

MISSIONARY JOURNAL.

Vol: XIV.

MARCH-APftIL, 1883.

No. 2

THE PEOVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE.

B? Bet. Arthur H. Smitix.

(Continued from page 11.)

IV.—PROVERBS CONTAINING ALLUSIONS TO HISTORICAL SEMI-HISTORICAL/
LEGENDARY, OR MYTHICAL PERSONS OR EVENTS.

/THE tendency in Chinese Proverbs to cluster, by a kind of
crystallization, about a particular character, admits of numerous
illustrations. The Sung Dynasty (a.d. 960-1278), produced many
famous men, and great scholars, like Chu Shi ^), the annotator
of the Classics and historian, whose name is almost as familiar to
the Chinese in every succeeding age, as those of Confucius and
Mencius, whose works he interpreted. It is not, however, the name
of Chu fu tzu , among men of his general era, which is most often
heard in popular speech (although some of his reputed household
words have become proverbial), but that of another individual
who has become a national by-word and laughing-stock. Chu
fu Izu is known principally to those who can read, but there
is scarcely any one, whether he can read or not, who has not heard
of Wu Ta Lang ^ j$). This individual was a dwarf. His
wife was named P'an Chin Lien ($§ ^ }f|), and is remembered
for her intrigues with one Ssi Wen ChHng (ffj ]g), intrigues
to which her husband was unable to put a stop. It is said that this
precious couple finally put an end to Wu Ta Lang, by compelling
him to take a ding in which poison was infused, which he dared
not refuse, although aware of their purpose. Hence the proverb—
employed in reference to one who is driven to the wall — c Wit. Ta
Lang's dose of poison—sure to die if he takes it, and sure to die if he
docs not; ± B IK $$ 0 j£ 4 T* 4 £ 5E* Ta
had an elder brother known as Wu Sung $£), who was a general

74

THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. [March-

under Sung Chiang ££), already mentioned, and a man of great

prowess. He was so fond of wine that Ids name has become pro¬
verbial. To revenge the murder of his brother, he killed his
brother’s wife, and her paramour LCsi Wen ChHng. In penalty for this
offense he was banished. The commander of the district to which
Wu Sung was exiled, was named Shih. He had a son known as
Shih En ($£ ,fi), who taking advantage of his father’s military
prestige, and of his own physical strength, had set up one of those
little despotisms, so common in China, by which a tax is levied on
every form of trade, the only equivalent for which is exemption from
similar exactions by others than the particular petty tyrant who
extorts them. In an evil hour for Shih En, a mightier robber than
himself named Chiang, suddenly descended upon him, beating and
wounding him and driving him from the field, diverting the revenues
to himself. Shih bethought himself of seeking the valiam aid of
Wu Sung, which was cheerfully given, but to Sink's dismay, Wu
drank such an amount of wine as apparently to unfit him for any
exploits whatever. Wu, however, explained, that unless he was
drunk, he was of no use as a fighter, and when entirely drunk he
was invincible. He then attacked Chiang in his head-quaters, a
place called the Happy Grove, and defeated him. Hence the pro¬
verb : f Wu Sung's great brawl in the Happy Grove—the slave of his
wine, 0 —said of intoxicated

persons.

Wu Ta Lang is now the Chinese Man-of-Ill-Fame, as his
n a m e has come to suggest all varieties of unfavorable predicates ; in
short he has become the ideal Mean Man (>]» /[,*). Even a tiger, it
is said, would not eat him, for he did nob seem to be a man at all.

He goes a hawking with an owl—a bird of ill name—and the
man and the bird are well matched, 35 * as & m & m ? 0
® JlJ A §£ 3S M Jb 8a 'd contemptuously of a bad master and
bad servants.

General incapacity is indicated by the observation that one is
like 4 Wu Ta Lang selling gruel—the man weak and his wares soft,

ffiiASBS®3£. A Dtg _

* A carious aspect of popular Chinese ethics, is exhibited in a saying which declares
that it is batter to be a really superior roan—liko Chao K'uang I'm who founded
the Snug Dynasty—even though he should commit every kind of evil, than to be
like TVu Ta Lang even though he strictly observed all the known proprieties,

ft i® m * «> m s a. s % % a n sc * &>. The meaning >e
that ihe lofty spirit of the former condones his offences, while the essential
meanness of the latter renders him contemptible, though his actions may b©
irreproachable.

75

April.] THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE.

Anything which is hopelessly bad, is affirmed to be like ‘ Wu
Ta Lang’s toes—not a single good one among them/ jf£ ^ III) Ml

s m. - is # « a w.

People of short stature, are bantered by being likened to ‘ Wit
Ta Lang turning on a gymnastic bar—when he was on the ground
he could not reach the bar, and when on the bar he could not reach
the ground/ ^ ^ gj$ jg fE ± J

‘When Wu Ta Lang becomes Emperor, no one can tell what
will happen/ said of one who under¬

takes what he can not carry through.

General incapacity is indicated by the sayiug: ( Wu Ta Lang
flying a kite—he can not make it rise/ jj£ ^(S $ JU

The only favorable thing that we, hear of him, is that his
garments were of the proper length—neither too long nor too
short—exactly right,

Used of anything which is well done.

When the completeness of the temples on Mount Tai is spoken
of, it is a common jest to reply: ‘ Did you see any temple to Wu Ta
Lang V —a sportive intimation that any excellence, however great
and undisputed, (such as the variety of the Temples on T'ai Shan) is
open to small and irrational criticism (such as the complaint at not
finding any recognition of a departed Worthy, of so much celebrity
as Wu Ta Lang).

V.—PROVERBS RELATING TO SPECIFIC PLACES OR DISTRICTS, OR TO
PERSONS OR EVENTS OF MERELY LOCAL IMPORTANCE.

The boundary line between this class of sayings and the last, is
not always distinct, since a person of local celebrity may become
famous, and a small place may come in time to have a great name.

Local proverbs are of many varieties. Some of them refer to
facts in the realm of physical geography. As, for example: ‘ The
Yellow River is a prodigal son, the Grand Canal is an inexhaustible
box of jewels to support the family/ fir ^ ^

The Grand Canal was dug to give safe convey¬
ance of the southern tribute rice to Peking, without fear of storms
or pirates. The Yellow River, nearly useless for navigation, must
be constantly kept banked in at vast expense, or it inundates whole
provinces.

The Hu T'o River ■/£ fpf) which rises in northern Shansi,
finds its way through the T'ai Han (ic ill) mountains near the
city of Cheng Ting Fit (JR ^ where it comes upon the great plain
of Chihli. In the course of years it has washed down thousands

76

THE PBOVERBS AND C01TM0N SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. [March

of acres of sand, which spreads all over the land and buries the soil
out of sight. In time the channel silts up, and at the nest annual
flood the waters swing off into some new course, carrying devastation
in their track. This process has continued for ages, and observation
on the course of the erratic stream is condensed in the saying:
‘Never south of H6ng, never north of P‘ing/ ^ $$ ^

i.e. Heng Shui Hsien (§j $ $6) and An Phng Hsien zfc |£),
cities which are an hundred miles or more apart.

Another class of sayings gives expression to sorno fact of local
history, or to some soi d'rnni prophecy, c.g. ‘ When the monastery
of Pan Che is burned, the city of Peking will be inundated/ >X $1

This is the prophetic dictum of Somebody,
referring to a celebrated temple south-west of Peking. Predictions
of this sort are received ky the masses with the most implicit faith.

‘Fire and flood at Tientsin, but not the calamity of war.’

This is a reputed

saying of Liu Po Wen (fij |p fg) one of the celebrated adherents
of Hung Wu jjj), who founded the Ming Dynasty. He is
generally regarded as a Prophet, but whether he ever said any of
the remarkable things attributed to him, is known only to the
Immortals. It is a singular circumstance that if the observation
was in reality a prediction, it has come to fact. The people of
Tientsin have been often in mortal peril of the horrors of war—
especially when the T c ai P'ing rebels marched against Peking,
on which occasion, they made a permanent (and unaccountable) halt
at Clung Mai listen $£) 25 miles south of Tientsin, and that

city was saved. So likewise in I860, when the British and French
troops invaded Chihli; the fighting was done at Pci Pang, Tuhi,
Chang Chia Wan and near Pang-chow, while Tientsin again escaped.
Fires are of great frequency. The whole region was inundated
from 1871 to 1873, causing extreme misery.

‘ Three inconspicuous mountains produced a race of kings; four
pity gates not opposite each other, account for the number of high
officials/ This couplet em¬

bodies the popular opinion in regard to the situation of the Capital
of Shantung, which is peculiar. The mountains on the south, the
remarkable spring at the south-west corner of the city, and three
small hills in the vicinity, have exerted a powerful geomantic
influence. The ground is saturated with water, hence the place is
regarded as a kind of boat. One of the little hills referred to is
called Chiich Shan ($$ jfj), ‘Peg Mountain/ for it is this to which
the boat is tied, and without which it might drift entirely away !

77

April] TEE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE.

A third variety of local proverbs specifies some objects of
interest in a city or district. Thus c.g. a city in Chihli called T&'ang
Chore (jf flft, •was long since removed from its site, (the Chinese are
always carrying their cities about in this way) and replanted twelve
or fifteen miles westward. The place was once famous for a pair of
iron lions—still to be seen—of gigantic size. Tung Kmng (j£ % fH),
a district city on the Imperial Canal, has a large idol of iron, while
Citing Chow (^ ^H) not far distant, west of the Canal, boasts a
pagoda, which, in that part of China, are of infrequent occurrence.
These several objects are woven into proverbial jingles, thus: ‘The
lions of Ts'ang Chow, the Ch'ang Chow pagoda/ The great iron P'u
Sa of Tung Kuang Esien , if j\\ ^ ^ ^

Rhymes of this kind are probably universal throughout the empire.
They are collected into little pamphlets called ‘Visits to the Cities
of All Creation’, it % % T JHi and other similar titles (like other
cheaply printed books full of wrong characters), a perusal of which
form9 the only substitute which most persons can command for our
primary geographies.

The peculiarities of a city are often made up into a little
bundle of three, and called its treasures in imitation of the Three
Precious Ones (H of the Buddhists. Thus Peking has its
treasures three—-horses that do not kick [because the crowds are so
constant that horses are not easily frightened], dog8 that do not bite
[because they continually see strangers], and damsels of 17 and 18
that run loose in the streets/ [because the Tartar fashions in this
respect are totally diverse from those of the Chinese, who, like the
Apostle Paul, require that the young women should be keepers at

home.] AM.Ha#. US'.ft T< P£. +<tA m

‘The three specialties of Pao Ting Fu ,—iron balls, the stone
melon, and the C/Cun pu lao $ % Jjjf, H H M JEU

In Pao Ting Fu are manufactured little iron balls which are held
in the hand for a plaything, and are by some considered as a tonio.
The Liek /cm is a stone, shaped somewhat like a gourd, built into
the floor of the verandah of a shop in the western part of the city.
It is supposed to be a charm capable of checking the ‘ social evil/
According to report, attempts have been made to dig up this
wonderful stone, but the deeper the excavation, the larger the space
which the stone occupied. Arguing from these data, the ‘ melon 5
lias been thought by some to be the summit of a mountain, all but
the tip of which is buried ! The Ch'un-pu-lao is a plant somewhat
resembling mustard, and much cultivated in this region.

‘ Tientsin ha9 its treasures three—the drum tower [which has a
double arch, regarded by the Chinese as a master-piece of difficulty

78

THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. [March-

in the architectural line, the plan of which, according to tradition,
was revealed to the builder in a dream] the forts, [of which there
were originally seven, built in the Ming Dynasty by Yung Lo and
now entirely demolished], and the bell-tower [a structure of no
pretensions whatever, and probably only mentioned in this con¬
nection because the last character (often pronounced kao) happened
to rhyme with, >«,],' 35 » ffi. = « ®. M «. « £. H IS.

* The four peculiarities of Chi Nan Fu: the Temple of the North
Pole, inside the north gate; the Mountain of the Thousand Buddhas
outside the south gate ,* the grave of Min izu outside the east gate;
and the Pao Tu Spring outside the west gate/ ES ^

ft naafcsa ® PiJi'HT «in. mfjsMiBa-T s.

H PI $i> ffi Sf ^ M. Miu izu was one of the disciples of Con¬
fucius. He is included among the Twenty-four Patterns of Filia 1
Obedience, and his name has thus become familiar to every one.
(See Mayer’s Manual , No. 503.) His step-mother had two children
of her own,* and took care to see that they were warmly clad, while
he was made to wear garments wadded only with reeds and rushes.
Old Mr. Min was totally unacquainted with his son’s wardrobe, but
one extremely cold day he sent Min izu to harness the chariot, and
drive his father out. On the way Min izu dropped the lines and
the whip owing to his being in a chronic state of semi-congelation.
His father thus came to a knowledge of his sufferings, and was
so indignant that he resolved to divorce Mrs. M. at once. Young
Min izu, however, who was an ardent disciple of Jeremy Bentham
in the opinion that the ruling principle ]of one’s actions should
always be ‘the greatest happiness of the greatest number/ met
his father’s announcement of the impending separation, with the
observation:—

* With a Mother at homo, eon endures distress,

When the Mother is gone, three sons aro motherless/

# £ - * So # £ H ? M,

The effect of this behaviour of Min izu was that so often found
in Chinese stories. Old Mr. Min was led to reconsider his decision,
and Mrs. Min was so affected that she became as fond of Min izu as
of her own children! Hence the common proverb: f Better one son
cold, than three sons bereft/ [as they would surely have been if no one
but Mr. Min had looked after them] fb Ity — fa H -f jpL p

‘ The three specialties of Shen Chow [a city in central Chihli],
millet, willow rods, and large honey-peaches/ gfc ^ W “ ar Ufo

* * * ft. It is evident that some ‘ treasures ’ might

* Some accounts say threo. There seem a to be an uncertainty on the subject,

similar to that concerning the progeny of John Bogers, who left, at hifl
martyrdom, “Nine small children, and ono at tho breast.”

79

April.] THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE.

in this way be predicated of any and every place, whatever its
importance or lack of importance. For aught that appears to the
contrary, the cities of China are all labelled—each with its little
rhyme, and the same is true of the regions outside the Great Wall;
thus: ‘The three treasures from beyond the Barriers, Ginseng,
Sable-skins, and Wu-la grass/ 0 ^ 5 & $!?, A fg & 0 J| & if.
Ginseng, called the ‘ divine plant/ is one of the most precious drags
in the Chinese pharmacopoeia. The Wu-la grass, so called in imitation
of a Mongol and Manchoo word, is much valued by the inhabitants
of the f outer regions ’ for its heating properties. It is worn inside
the shoes to keep the feet warm, and the root is a medicine.

* Three curious things heyond the Pass are spied: The windows
pasted on the outer side; the walls not laid, but pounded np in
boards; and food is ladled out by means of gourds/ 1$ ^ #J JE*

8 Sg.«»«.aS*. 8 <#«*•. The most trivial

circumstances do not escape the keen eyes of the Chinese, nor is the
opportunity lost to turn them to a metaphorical sense. There is a
species of frogs in North China, which do not croak, but after swell¬
ing up as if in promise of emitting a mighty sound, appeaT suddenly
to swallow it. Hence: ‘ The frogs of Chi Nan Fu [also said of other
places] give no sound/ ^ jjj§, $£ J$ Metaphorically

of one who swallows his resentment.

Some local sayings refer to the commercial characteristics of
certain places, as: ‘ One Market in Honan [Chu Rsien Chen |j* f|Jj $£],
one Fair in Chihli [11 sin Chih ^ in Chii Lu Rsien j^],
one Village in Shantung/ [ Chou ts'un ^ east of Chi Nan Ft],

Each of these places is the

center of an extensive trade.

Some of the sayings of this sort appear extremely trivial, but
serve to illustrate the facility with which the Chinese discover
analogies* Tims a local proverb runs: c The foot-cloths of Mu Lan
Tien have borders, Tbis is a market-

town in Honan, where strips of cloth with which women’s feet are
bound, are worn with a narrow border of fine work on each edge.
The expression ‘ It has a border/ is used to indicate that an affair
can he managed—is not entirely hopeless—and thus resembles the
strips of cloth from Mu Lan Tim.

‘ The assortment of goods at the Mao Chow fair is complete, yet
there are no collars made of the skin of hedge-hogs, no long jackets
°f pig-skin; neither are there golden manure forks nor silver manure

baskets,- a flt ft t la. ^ A-kWt.'kw.x

3* ^ ao Chow is a market town in Central Chihli (probably

80

THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. [March-

in former times a city of the second order, as its name implies)
celebrated for its great Fair. The saying is used like the ’one pre¬
viously quoted in reference to the lack of any temple on Tai Shan
to Wu Ta Lang, to indicate that unreasonable exceptions may be
taken to any kind or degree of completeness.

‘ Go to Liu Tang IToa and cool off/ Ity ^ P £ ® t& 0

This is a village in Chihli, whose inhabitants are reputed to have
( no business with any man.’ One who is very angry is exhorted to
go to this lonesome place to get cooled/ because it is a cool (unfre¬
quented spot.

' When one goes out of the Chia Yu Pass, he sees with his two
eyes nothing but blue sky/ 7 % W IS M If

Pass is at the southern extremity of the Great Wall, in the province
of Kansuh. The regions beyond (on the way to Barkosel) are
popularly supposed to be desolation itself. The saying may he
applied to one at the end of his resources, 'flat on his back, looking
up into the sky.’

It is common to see pasted over doorways, the characters San
Ta Chiu Ju, % jl 'Three Abundances, Nine Resemblances/

the latter referring to a passage in the Book of Odes. The threo
things to be wished for in abundance, are great Felicity, extreme
Old Age, and many Sons jjl % || % §j) 0 A parody on this
phrase has become proverbial with regard to the province of Shan¬
tung. ' The three abundances of Shantung: more doctors than
patients, more school-teachers than readers, more who weave cloth
than who wear it,’ ill S H '?, /& JS 65 it (Kj SM it

There is a class of local sayings, which refer to the mental or
moral characteristics of the inhabitants, or to their habits of life.
As e.g. ' The Peking people cherish grudges, while Tientsin people
[i.e. those who belong to Tien Ching Wei 5; $£ |§] are brawlers/
ft, JEi *P% ^ ■Jo Bike the ancient saying, ' The Cretans are

always liars.’

' Shansi people drive camel litters, Shantung people carry all
their bedding, Chihli people make senseless tumults/ ill t£ ft,

Shansi is a mountainous province,
where traveling is conducted by means of litters; Shantung is a
densely peopled province, multitudes of whose inhabitants go to
great distances to find work. They are tiro water-carriers and
servants in Peking, and they form by far the larger proportion of
the population in the new province of Shcng Ching. In winter the -
great roads are lined with one unintermit tent stream of Shantung

81

April.] THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE.

men going home, and returning to their work in the early spring;
hence the allusion to * bedding.’ The rowdies of Tientsin (called
linn Using tzn ^ Are well known throughout China, and

sometimes (as in the Tientsin massacre of 2870) come near to
competing with the ' dangerous classes ’ of western countries.

' Southerners are unprincipled; Westerners are thrifty; North¬
erners are foolish/ j!§ 0 The Chinese constantly

speak of other Chinese, who belong to a different part of the Empire,
in the same disdainful manner which they employ toward foreigners.
Each region has its nickname. In the northern provinces, natives
of Kuangtung and Fukien are contemptuously called ' Southern
Barbarians’ (iff §£ ¥)■ In tbe same way natives of the northern
provinces going southward, are derisively styled ' Northern Tartars’
(ft a?)- There appears to be very little real unity among the
Chinese, simply as citizens of one common country. Thus, even a
Chihli man, although a resident of the most northern province in
China, is called a 'Southern Barbarian’ when he goes beyond
the Great Wall, as much as if he haled from Canton or Foochow..

The people of Shansi have a unique place in the commercial
system of China. A large part of the banking business is in their
hands, and it is popnlarly supposed that no Pawnshop can succeed
without a Shansi man for Manager. They have spread themselves
not only all over the Eighteen Provinces, but far into Central Asia..
They are willing to leave their families for years together, while
most Chinese return home at least once a year. They are regarded
as extremely sagacious in perceiving the smallest pecuniary ad¬
vantage, alert in using opportunities, patient under provocation,
and, when angry, easily appeased by the prospect of a good bargain;
thus furnishing a striking contrast to the natives of many other
provinces. Hence the common saying, ‘ Shansi Delvers—they love
gain, but do not value their lives,’ llj IS ^ {$ ^ ^ fo* The

epithet Chao4zu (|j£ ^), Seekers, is slightingly employed with
reference to the qualities already mentioned. Shansi men are also
called Old Westerners fcg Wo ftp), and are the butt of many banter¬
ing sayings.

'Two Shantung men quarrelling over an onion/ M IS (li jfC A
The people of this province are supposed to be
especially addicted to onions. Each region,, according to popular
belief, has its own peculiar taste. The people of the south delight in
sugar, while those of the north use vegetables in pickle, and other¬
wise consume salt to an extent elsewhere unknown. The Shansi,
people are celebrated for their fondness for vinegar, and the men of

82 TEE PB0VEEB3 AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. [March-

tile East Sliautnng for their taste for the pungent. Hence: f South
sweet, the North salt, the East pungent, the West sour/ jgj

The only remaining one of ‘ the five tastes/

‘ hitter (^} is not localized—perhaps because bating bitterness’ is
the prerogative of the entire race.

‘ When old do not enter Ssu Ch'uan, and when young avoid
Ruangtung’ ^ ^ A Jl| 0 p % A Ho The people of south-western
China have the reputation of being much more belligerent than those
in the north, therefore beware of Ssu Ch'uan. Canton is famous for
its licentiousness, and should be avoided by the young.

‘The Pekingese are hungry devils, the Tientsin people are
thirsty ones/ In Peking

the meeting of friends is a signal for an invitation to eat; in
Tientsin, to drink tea; at the south, to drink wine. ‘ Let gods and
immortals beware of Twenty-li-shop/ 111] /f» A HI -f* M Mo A
village near So Chien Fu ($J fa) }{$) in Chihli, which had a bad name.
Local sayings of this sort are probably universal.

‘The mountains not high, the waters not deep, the men
deceitful, and the women licentious, ’ iu 4 m z- as. 9, % Mu
it, % §ro This most uncomplimentary saying is current in regard
to Chi Nan Fu, and is probably spoken of other places also.

1 Hard to leave, hard to give up, is Nan Tan Hsicn ’ |f ^ || j§|
65 $$ HJ5 $§ 9 This is a city in south-western Chihli, which is at
present known chiefly for the seductive influences thrown around
young men who go there to engage in trade.* It is often mentioned
in Chinese history, and contains a few old temples. It is distin¬
guished as the place at which Lu Tang Pin (g ^]pj ^), to whom
reference has been already made, had a famous dream. He had fled
thither to save his life, and here he found Chung Li Ck'iian (If j||

See Mayer’s Manual , No. 90), in a mined temple, boiling yellow
millet. While looking on Lu Tung Pin fell asleep, and dreamed that
he became Emperor, enjoying all the grandeur of this high position
for an entire life time. When he had grown old, as he was about to
die, he awoke and found himself again in the same old temple where
he had fallen asleep, and, to his surprise, the millet which was at
that time on the fire, was not yet cooked. Reflecting upon his dream,
he perceived that all the riches and honor in the would are but
emptiness. This determined him to give up the deceitful and transi-

* This character is also given ia ati additional line to another town but a few miles
from Han Tan, the name of which is Lin Miny Barrier ($£ % gjjj) but which is
popularly designated as the Jorty-five li place—the Devil’s Gate, + ft

SWAP!®.

83

April.] THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE.

tory joys of life; and follow Chung Li Ch'iian into retirement, where
he became one of the most famous of the Eight Immortals (A 1[]j)o
This occurrence is constantly referred to, in the words: ‘The Yellow
Millet Dream and Awakening/ ^ *f§ v or ‘ The Dream of San
Tan and the return to consciousness/ f[i $<6 1£

The phrase is used in connection with other familiar images,
to indicate the evanescence of wealth, happiness, etc., as in the
following verse:—

' Honor and Wealth are like descending dew
Which lightly falls, then swiftly fades from view;

So Fame and Glory like the hoar frost white,

When once the sun shines, vanish from the sight 5

And all the race of Heroes we esteem

Bat as the Yellow Millet’s transient Dream.*

iS3EH. K Kip

Of some local sayings it is difficult or impossible to obtain the
explanation, for in China there are in popular circulation no such
volumes of ‘ Notes and Queries’ as abound in English, wherein the
remotest origin of everything is laboriously traced. Of this sort, the
following proverb, widely current about Tientsin, and referring to a
village in that vicinity, is a specimen. ‘ If you can not sell your
pepper vinegar elsewhere, go to Yang Feng Chiangf f

This means that if business can not
be done at a profit in one place, there are others which promise
better; but what is meant by ‘ pepper-vinegar/ even ‘ the oldest
inhabitant' of this village does net pretend to know.

A large proportion of proverbs coming under this general head,
contain an allusion to some person of merely local reputation, and
often of no reputation at all, some incident in connection with whom,
has, however, sufficed to fix his name, like a fly caught in amher.
From the nature of these sayings, most of them have a very
restricted currency, but within the area where they are known at
all, no proverbs are oftener quoted or more universally understood,
because of their piquancy and local flavor. They arise by spontaneous
generation, and the number is constantly increased by now growths.
Their quality will be exhibited in the following examples, many of
the characters of which lived at Tientsin.

1 Chon Ssien Sheng crossing the river—lying down/ J^J % ^
ift* IsrJ T Me This was a poor man who entered a ferry boat, but
as he was known to have no money, the boatman refused to row him
over the river. Upon this Chou lay down in the boat, which must
either cross the river or suspend business. The words ‘ Chou Ssien
Sheng crossing the river/ are used in reference to a person who is

84 THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. [Marcll-

asleep, or who has tripped. The whole point in the quotation of
sayings of this sort, lies in omitting the predicate, which is supposed
to he immediately supplied by the hearer.

‘ Liu Lao Wan dropping his cakes—in deep trouble/ gfi) %

§? fii ifr, This was a coolie who early every morning left
home in quest of employment, taking with him the cakes which
Tientsin workmen (who have but two regular meals a day) are
always nibbling in the intervals of their work. One day he dropped
his cakes, which some one else picked up. An acquaintance met
him , and began to jest with him, but he replied: ‘ I have a heavy
heart.’ Upon inquiry all his trouble turned out to be owing to the
loss of his lunch. Hence the expression is tantamount to ( much
ado about nothing.’

‘Wang Shih Erh taking no medicine, died of his disease/

Used in reference to anything for which
there is no help, deep poverty, &c.

' Using San assisting at a funeral—not a man/ M H §2, $

A, The musicians hired for funeral occasions, are in the
habit of striking up with their instruments whenever any of the
family which is in mourning appears. This man Using was the
friend of a family which had lost one of its members, and acted as
general manager. At his approach tho musicians were about to
*blow music/ when he hastily interposed, exclaiming; ‘I am not a
man.’ What he intended to say was that he was not one of the
family, but this casual slip of the tongue has served to perpetuate
his name, and to spread it far and wide; for this saying (as well as
the next) is said to be extensively current, not only in considerable
parts of the province of Chihli, but in portions of Shantung, Honan,
and all over Manchuria—where a certain percentage of the popula¬
tion are from Tientsin. Such is the imperishable vitality of a casual
expression! The words ‘Using San assisting at a funeral/ form a
convenient mode of reviling one, in the oblique Chinese manner,
meaning; ‘ You do not deserve to he called a man.’

‘ Mei Using Sheng filching a tobacco pipe—done because it must
be done/ ft ft £ Jft ft g. 3 ft E K ft £• This individual,
feeling the pinch of poverty/ stole a pipe. When detected, he
quoted the phrase from Mencius. The incongruity of a classically
educated sneak-thief, has kept green the memory of his theft and of
his citation, and given its perpetrator a celebrity which no amount
of merely honest scholarship would have secured to him.

This same quotation is sometimes made to do duty in a different
connection. There is a local legend in the province of Shantung, of

85

April.] THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE.

a Literary Graduate (^? ^) who was too poor to own a donkey, and
who therefore employed a man—such is the inverted condition of the
labor marker in China—to turn the stone roller by which the grain
is ground. Happening along one day, the scholar saw his servant
engaged in this occupation, which is regarded as the special pre¬
rogative of beasts and women, and injudiciously laughed. His
employee flow into a fury, and vowed that his master should turn
the roller himself or be beaten if he refused. As the hired man
was physically the stronger, the Hsin-ts r ai had no resource hut to
comply. Hence the saying: f The Literary Graduate turning the
mill—did it because he was compelled to do it, ^ % %

Melon-rinds for shoe patches—not the article sold by regular
dealers, W*£fr**.**£a*18. A ^-Wind shoe¬
maker was imposed upon by a wag, who gave him a lot of dried
water-melon rinds, representing them to be donkey-skin. When
some one came to have his shoe mended, the cobbler used this
new leather for the purpose, in perfect good faith. The next day
the read was as bad as ever, and the customer returned to make
complaint of the had work. The disciple of Crispin examined
the shoe and—still unsuspicious of any joke—merely observed
that this particular leather had not reached him through the
regular channels of trade (/£ ^ IE IS § jit)> which has passed
into a euphemistic expression for any one or any thing not up
to the mark.

c Deaf Wang firing a cannon—no explosion/ I ^ -p
"J* 0 Whether there was a sound or not, he could not hear it.
Met. of any business unfinished.

‘ Kao San at the ancestral graves—an incessant stream of revil¬
ing/ If H ± 7 $8 Me This was an unfilial son, who lived

in the days of Chia Ch'ing. Lest others should ridicule him, he
unwillingly paid the customary visits to the family graves, where,
however, he spent his whole time in insulting his ancestors by vile
language. Met. of anything done unwillingly, and which leads to
abusive words.

‘ Ska Hsi selling dumplings—the bottom fallen out/ ^ ^

m. This was a voracious youngster who was in
the habit of eating off the bottom of the meat dumplings which he
was sent upon the street to sell. When asked how they came to he
defective at the base, he invariably replied that they were made so in
the first place. Met. of heavy losses, or of any circumstance of
which it may he said ( the bottom has dropped out/

86 ' THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE- [March-

‘ Sha Hsi driving home ducks—they all came/ ^ ^ % $3; T 0
£ 95o Being hired to take care of a flock of ducks, he returned

one night with a great many of them being missing. On being asked
where the rest had gone, he replied: ‘They have all corae/ When
he was told to count them and see, he replied that he did not know
how to count, he only knew that ‘ they have all come. 1 Said of a
complete gathering, &c.

‘ The little priest dragging a chain—it will be the death of me/
>J' »E ££ SL ^ T To This lad was set to perform a vow,
after the manner of Buddhist and Taoist priests, by dragging a long
and heavy iron chain. Whenever he was overcome by the fatigue of
this severe labor, he would exclaim: ‘ This will be the death of me t *
An expression now proverbial for extreme misery.

‘Wang, the District Magistrate, investigating a case—‘You are
a scamp! ’ 3; fo 1 } T & A» This man held office in the
Tientsin District in 1821. He was an excellent official, virtuous
and intelligent. Whenever a blackleg was brought before him, his
invariable observation was: ‘You are not a good man/ i.e. you
are a knave.

‘ Ching Hsim Sheng begging—one cash/

This was a rich man of the reign of Ksien Feng, who was as unfilial
as his father had been before him. No one who worked for him, or
had any dealings with him, left his door without reviling him— more
Chiiutuc. The vengeance of heaven, however, overtook him; for a
son, whose abilities gave much promise of his future, suddenly
became deranged. He soon reduced the property to nothing, and
became himself a beggar. Whenever he met any one, he stretched
out his hand, and cried: 'Give me one cash 1 ’ The words are used
to signify a single copper.

‘lino Te carrying the god of medicine—oppressed by fate/

This is another instance of a lapse
of speech becoming proverbial. Muo Tc, who lived in the time of Tao
Kuang, attended the Fair held in honor of the god of medicine, and
helped to carry the chair in which the divinity himself rode. Sud¬
denly Huo Te stumbled and fell, when he exclaimed: ‘I was
oppressed by fate, (yiin ya ^). What he intended to say was
that he was made dizzy by the weight, ( ya yun M }5£ £f|). Used of
persons whose fate is against them, and also of confusion as to the
points of the compass, &c.

‘ Making pewter tankards at midnight—habituated to cry his
wares, ’ f.*iTSSIf.®7*SlW. This refers to an artisan,
whose daily cry was: ‘Pewter mugs made!* One night he called

April.] THE TROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. 87

out these words in a dream, from which circumstance the expression
has become a synonym for any fixed habit.

‘Pai JSrk’s mother riding in a sedan chair—the first time,

This woman when a child was
adopted by the family into which she was to marry (Jr £§. $fjr),
and therefore had no opportunity to go from home (JfJ when she

was married, and thus never entered a sedan chair. One night she
was summoned in haste to attend a sick neighbor, and a sedan was
sent for her. Instead of backing into the chair as others do, she
walked under the canopy, and then turned around. The chair-coolies
all laughed at her, to whom she naively responded, 'It is the first
time I was ever in a chair.’ Hence 'Pai Eih’s mother in a chair/
is used for a trial trip, or first experiment of any kind.

‘San Wang Yeh begging—bold language/ H 3E 5^

^ P fa. This refers to a play in which a character appears in the
depths of poverty who strikes his bare back with a brick (^J*
after the manner of Chinese beggars to excite sympathy. His-
demands, however, instead of being confined, like those of ordinary
mendicants to a single cash, or at most two, were for ' yellow gold,
'white silver/ 'real pearls/ 'precious jade/ (fee. If however the
individual solicited was positively unprovided with any of these
offerings, San Wang Yeh professed himself willing to put up with
a tael of silver. Used of impudent demands.

.‘Hsiao Pai Lien izu —never seen/ )J> 7 1 ®

This Little White Face was a thief of extraordinary discretion in
his movements, who lived is such perpetual seclusion as to be never
taken. Used of persons who are difficult to find.

' Liu Kao Shou curing a malady—external practice takes no
account of internal maladies/ g) ^ if ^ ft % § ft ||

A man was wounded in the right temple by an arrow which passed
through his temple (apparently into the frontal sinus) and came out
at the left temple. The physician named above, was called to attend
the case, and taking a saw, cut off the ends of the arrow close to the
man’s head, and (according to the invariable practice of Chinese
doctors) stuck on a plaster over the wound. To this treatment
the family offered the natural objection that the body of the arrow
was still unextracted, to which he replied: " External practitioners
have nothing to do with internal complaints.” The phrase is used
of outsiders, (^jj in distinction from those directly concerned.

Medical skill of this quality would not seem to entitle its possessor
to the general confidence of the public, nor to any celebrity in the
item of diagnosis.

88

THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP TEE CHINESE. [March-

Yet another local saying declares that when Liu Kao Shou
shook his head, there was no help for the patient, gij plj ^

The more one understands of the Chinese Theory, and
Practice of Medicine, the more accurate appears the observation
attributed in the Analects to Confucius, that the qualifications for
being a Wizard and a Doctor are in one respect identical!

Niu Ts'a izti calling his sister—101) cash ^ Ity £&

—• This was a bad character, whose sister’s family would

not allow him to enter the door. Every day he came to the entrance
of the yard, and called ‘ Sister ! Sister!’ who always gave him the
the same amount. The expression has become one of the numerous
circumlocutions denoting an hundred cash.

‘ Ch'eng To [Steelyard-Weight] becoming an Ensign—when
luck comes ifc brings astuteness,’ ^ §£ IS $§ 0 f§ 0

Steelyard-Weight was the nickname of a soldier in the days of
Ch'ien Sung, who once paid a visit to Tientsin. Ch'eng-t'o was at the
time in charge of the ammunition, and at another he practiced
athletics, for which, by reason of his insignificant stature, he was
very ill fitted. He had a stalwart comrade, to whom he proposed
that when the Emperor reviewed the troops, and they had an.
opportunity to display their skill in boxing, the big fellow should
allow himself to be overthrown by his little antagonist. This
unexpected result would probably amuse the Emperor. It was
further agreed that if His Majesty bestowed any pecuniary reward,
as in such cases is often done, the defeated comrade should receive
the lion’s share. Everything was done as planned—-the Emperor
was delighted, *but contrary to programme, he bestowed no money,
but promoted the Steelyard Weight to be an Ensign. His unre¬
warded companion ‘ died of vexation.’ The incident is used as an
illustration of the proverb which it embodies.

‘ The vicious Tien San Suo, disturber of the household—jumped
into the Yellow River and stirred it up,’ ^ ^ ffl i: £Jt„

^ ^ This woman is variously referred to the time

of Kang Tsin or to that of the ‘ Three Emperors’ (a chronological
variation of several thousands or perhaps tens of thousands of
years). She was undnfciful to her father-in-law, and to her mother-
in-law, would not reverence her husband, and succeeded in breaking
up the whole family. Being divorced by her husband, she sought to
marry again, but no one would risk the venture. In her vexation
she plunged into the Yellow River which was ever after turbid !

c Kao Erh Heang Tzu beheaded—just in time for the new
law/ ^ ~ j: [^J 0 This rowdy who became

89

April.] THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE.

involved in a serious fracas. The Governor General had recently
memorialized the Emperor to make the employment of every form
of military weapon by civilians a capital crime. When this offense
occurred, the imperial decree had lately been published. Kao Erh
was just in time to be overtaken by the new law. The saying is
used c.g. of merchants who send their goods to a place where the
market rate is high, just in time to meet a fall in prices.

'Old Wang’s Do-the-boys-Hall,’ Jj, ^ 3: Jg %

^ Tw° motherless children were put in her care by the

father who was engaged in trade at a distance. She ‘ did’ them
both to death. Used of ruining another’s business, under guise of
helping him.

‘ Like Old Mrs, Ning’s historical knowledge,’ M M

&§ 0 A very intelligent old lady, but most of what she

knew was odds and ends wrongly put together. Used of ' rotten
scholarships,’ (& ft).

* San Fu Tzu performing—-now look at me 1’ — ^ *-jp ^

H PS This was a gymnast who exhibited feats of sword exercise
for a living. When the other performers had finished he always
cried: 'Now look at me !’ Used of self-praise.

' Ck'i Shih Erh catching sparrows—deliberately,’ -U ^

% iiL 1$ This was a lad who spread his nets, remaining at a
distance, but when any birds were attracted he crept up slowly like
a shadow, so as to succeed in taking them, while others failed.
Used of caution in general.

' Chao Fe Hui burning paper at the ancestral graves—poorer
each year than the last,’ iff ^ ^ ^ ^ #j c

This individual flourished in the reign of Ch'ien Sung. When he
suddenly became rich he was told that he ought to show his respect
for his ancestors by burning paper at their graves, according to
custom. This he accordingly did for some years, and then left off
that practice. Upon being asked why lie no longer conformed to
the usage, he replied: ‘When I burned no paper at the graves,
I grew rich. Since I began to burn paper, I have been worse off
each year than the one before.’ Said of things, which are worse
every year than the last.

* Hci Hsiung selling a dog—come to life again/ H fpf

XffiT. Near the west gate of Tientsin are shops in which dog-
flesh is sold. When a wealthy family owns a dog which dies, it is
customary to give it to one of the servants to he disposed of for
their own benefit. Hei Hsiung f Black Bear’ was a coolie to whom
a dead dog had been given in this way. On the way to the dog-

90 THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. [March-

flesh shop, the animal opportunely came to life again. The Black
Bear was an honest fellow, and instead of knocking* the dog on the
head, and saying nothing about the matter, he took it back to its
owner, observing: f It has come to life again/ ( 3 £ f£ ~T)o
The expression is used of anything which after apparent failure,
still succeeds, and shows vitality, (fg t§{) "J*)„

( With such an eye as yours to try to hunt with a falcon ! J

This refers to a man named Cl fen Erh
(|fi£ Zl) one of whose eyes had been injured so as to be useless,
and who was besides near-sighted. He was very fond of hunting
for hares with a falcon, but his imperfect sight prevented him from
recognizing what was canght. On one occasion his falcon chased a
crow, and Ch'en Erh mistaking the crow for the falcon pursued
it a long time in vain. Used in ridicule of those who attempt tasks
for which they have no capacity.

f Ton might as well go and find Gifu Evh Ko / ffc .R ftf
This was an avaricious man who kept his creditors at
bay with elusive promises from day to-day, hut who never paid
his debts, so that his name became a synonym for anything entirely
hopeless.

‘ Do not take him for a Chi a Pao JSrh ,

This refers to a preternaturally stupid man who was so constantly
cheated, and badly used, that to treat a man as if he were Chi a Pao
Erh signifies to impose upon him.

* Wu Chun JKsi making a how—delaying/ ^ tg t #£

— Wu was a bad character who lived in the time of Tao Kuang.
Having had a fight with some one, third parties intervened to assist
in making peace, which is considered to be re-established when the
principals have met and saluted each other in a formal bow. When
the time came to perform this ceremony, Wit —who was an insolent
bully, instead of making a bow simultaneously with his late antag¬
onist, remained bolt upright. The expression is used of any delay.

‘Yu San Shrug blowing his whiskers—used up,

^ This was a theatrical performer who was accustomed,
according to the practice of his profession, to strut across the stage,
puffing his whiskers about, to indcate his great importance. Being
old and short of breath, when he wished to seem angry, he could no
longer blow his whiskers as aforetime. The saying is employed of
prestige which has been lost, or of decaying powers.

* Pao Chil Wu eating chestnuts—shrivelled/ ^

HI i $] 0 Pao Chu Wu’s father had not a single hair on his head. The
son being immoderately filial {on the Chinese plan) would never,
under any circumstance pronounce the character Vu 5 ^ which signi-

91

April.] THE PE0VEEB3 AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE.

ties‘bald.’ Tliis same word is, however, provincially applied to
chestnuts which have been injured by heat. Some one gave Chii
Wn a nut of this kind, to see if he could not be surprised into
calling it ‘bald/ but he only remarked that it was dried up’ (|ij (fjij).
This phrase, like the last, is used of anything which is disappoint¬
ing—as a man without talent, a purse with no money, &c.

Ten Sheng Chih wearing a fur robe—the public would not stand
it/ n ^ It % Jk A ^ flK, This man was very poor all his
life, but when old grew rich. He then altered his apparel and
appeared in a handsome fur garment. Everybody laughed at his
costume, as unsuited to his antecedents. Used of anything which
gives general dissatisfaction.

‘ Sun Hon eating mei su pills—troubled in heart/

S ft IS >5. Sun, who acquired the nickname of ‘ Monkey/ was
so incorrigibly dull of apprehension, that others were perpetually
making him a butt for their jests. On one occasion, when he had
taken cold, and was suffering from a violent pain in the stomach,
some one recommended this variety of pills as a certain cure. Now
thyme ($|) is a ‘cooling drug/ and the pills only made his pain
much worse than before. When asked how he felt, he replied: ‘ I
am vexed in spirit/ Used of anything causing trouble or anxiety.

‘ Tu Sai Tai eating betel-nut, and suffering from vertigo/

W. T1,i3 man was victimized in the
same way as the last individual mentioned. For two days he had
eaten nothing, when he was presented with a betel-nut to eat, which,
in order to be digested, should be taken after a full meal. The
proverb runs: ‘ Betel-nut taken into an empty stomach induces
dizziness in the head/ $£ ^ $0 fsp[ To this dietetic

maxim Sai Tai paid no attention, and suffered the penalty. The
expression is employed in reference to one who has a task laid upon
him, to which he is entirely inadequate, and who only becomes
confused in attempting it.

‘ Sa T'v i:u and his wife—everything at cross purposes/
H it ffl ‘ffl: 'ifto Tilis man’s partner proved—as in
Chinese households is apt to be the case—an ‘imperfect sympathy.’
The allusion to this couple suggests that the person or thing which
is referred to, is irritating and vexatious.

‘ Ta Hoi Erh lost his maternal uncle, but he did not care/

Used of anything which is of no
importance, or which doe3 not in the least concern one.

‘The District Magistrate welcoming the local constable—I
miscalculated/ ± ft $g f§ J 0 0j| o This is

another slip of the tongue immortalized. In the reigu of Hsien

92 THE PKOVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. [Marcll-

Peng strolling marauders threatened Tientsin, and the District
Magistrate visited the western suburbs to inspect the defences. It
was the duty of the local constable, on the approach of the Magis¬
trate, to kneel and say: ' The local constable receives his Honor. On
this occasion, the constable committed a blunder similar to that of a
servant in an American family, which was favored with the presence
of an English Bishop. This servant had been carefully instructed to
go to the door of the Bishop’s room in the morning, and knock,
saying "The Boy, my Lord.” The young republican, unfamiliar
with titles of this kind, on hearing the Bishop inquiring who it was,
replied in confusion, f The Lord, my boy 1' In this case the local
constable saluted the Chih hsicn with the observation: “ His honor
receives the constable.” "When the Magistrate was about to beat
him for his impertinence, he hastily apologized, in the words,

0 instead of @7§m The former resemble in sound
the words, StftSIST meaning to mistake in thinking. The
phrase is used of one mistake added to another.

Sayings, in themselves purely local, are probably to be met with
everywhere and, as remarked, constantly increasing in number.
The two following examples were dug up in little country villages,
and are, of course, quite unintelligible a few miles away.

‘P'ang Pin’s cart-house—far out of plumb, fgf $j[ iff Mo
i$lo P'ang Pin had occasion to build a shed for his cart, and as
usual the workmen suspended a line by which to lay the wall. But
as the work on a mere shed was of small importance no attention was
paid to the line, and the opening was after all too narrow for the
cart. Used of great mistakes.

1 IVeng Often telling stories—for nothing, ft

This young man had learned the art of telling historical tales and
visited a neighboring village to exhibit his knowledge. At the
conclusion of his first evening he suggested that if benches were
provided, he would come again. To some objection he replied:
‘Oh, at present I toll tales for nothing $j). Used of any

useless proposition (£3 gft f$)-

Tho method in which sayings of this sort spring into circula¬
tion, is illustrated in the following circumstance. In a certain
district there lived a notorious bully, named Wang Wan Hsixan,
who kept every one in awe of him. In some trivial affair, he at
length incurred the ill-will of a widely extended family, named Li,
who resolved to show by a swift and terrible vengeance, that their
clan was not to be trifled with. Accordingly a band of some two
hundred armed men, went to the house of Wang by night, dragged
him to an unfrequented spot, beat him until he was almost dead.

April.] TEE RELATION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY, ETC. 93

ami then inflicted a most barbarous mutilation, so as to render
sight and speech {and consequently revenge) forever impossible.
The poor wretch died a day or two afterward, leaving only a widow
and one son. There was very little property, and there were no
influential friends, the indipensable concomitants of successful
litigation in China. Still the outrage was so atrocious, and so
notorious, that it is difficult to see how its perpetrators could avoid
punishment when once complaint was lodged against them. The
case was, however, protracted for several years and cost the Li family
a large sum, which was raised by the sale of the cypress trees grow¬
ing in the ancestral cemetery. By the time the suit was concluded—
several members of the Li family being banished, but no one execut¬
ed—the whole grove had been swallowed up in the costs, and had
disappeared. The remembrance of this affair is perpetuated in
the following proverbial couplet:

M T 3E n % Vi too

4 Tl»o champion ITanj in clannish feud, was killed by the family Li,

The lawsuit left their graveyard nude, with never a single tree. ’

THE RELATION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND HEATHEN
SYSTEMS OF RELIGION.*

By Rev. D. Z. SreftieU).

CHRISTIANITY is a religion of conquest, and as such is brought
^ into vital contact with every form of heathen religious belief.
It follows that a just appreciation of the relation between Christianity
and the religions which it aims to supplant, is an essential qualifica¬
tion for the missionary in his work of evangelization. The Apostle
Paul did not resolve to know nothing hut Christ and Him crucified,
in any narrow sense that would cause him to ignore the previous
religious training and convictions of those whom he sought to lead
into a truer and nobler life. Ignorance of a man’s religious con¬
victions involves an ignorance of the best methods of approach to
his mind and heart. On the other hand an exaggerated estimation
of the doctrines of heathen religions must tend to dangerous com¬
promises between truth and falsehood, to an adulteration of the new
wine of life with the old dregs of human error, that minister only
disease and death. Bnt the task of judging justly of strange
religious systems is confessedly a difficult one. If it is found not
easy to eliminate the personal equation in scientific investigations,

* Read before tbe Peking Missionary Association, December 2lBt 1882.

94 THE RELATION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY [March-

much more is this true in ethical and religious investigations. Men
in their estimation of truth are often unconsciously biassed by educa¬
tion, by their mental qualities, and above all by their state of heart.
How often do we read from the hands of different writers conflicting
accounts of heathen systems of worship; and this too from men of
equal intelligence, and opportunities for investigation. But the
subject is too important for us to shrink from its examination
through fear of being betrayed into error in our conclusions. But
lather should we be warned by the difficulties to conduct our in¬
quiries with caution and candor, and with charity towards those who
may chance to differ from us in our conclusions.

I.—We would first remark as introductory to cur discussion,
that heathen systems of religion are providential in their establish¬
ment and in their development; and that while they contain much
that is false and evil, as measured by the Christian standard, they
also contain much that is true and good; and farther, that the
truths which lie imbedded in these systems have operated as power¬
ful conserving elements in heathen civilizations, preserving them
from that swift disintegration which the evil passions of men tend
to bring about. Confucian scholars tell us that man’s dignity above
the birds and beasts is found in his apprehension of the doctrine of
the Five Relations, and that Confucius, in unfolding and emphasiz¬
ing the teachiugs of the Ancient Sages, had preserved subsequent
generations from degenerating to the condition of birds and beasts.
If we study the history of China this estimation of the Confucian
doctrine is abundantly confirmed. From tbe earliest times unti\
the present day China has ever and anon been desolated with the
terrible scourge of civil war, fed by the wild passions of hatred,
greed and ambition. But at length some chieftain has appeared
more powerful than his rivals, who, whether from conviction or a
wise policy, has brought order out of confusion, and restored peace
to society, by reorganizing government on the basis of the doctrines
of the Ancient Sages concerning the rights and duties of men.

Buddhism in its inception in the mind of Gautama, and in its
development by his disciples, is a religion of self-abnegation and a
boundless charity. Both in China and Japan it has united with the
best elements of Confucianism to check man’s selfish greed for
wealth and fame and power. Happily Gautama, though ignorant
of God, drew largely from his moral intuitions in his religious
teachings, and thus Buddhism next to Christianity has been a religion
of humanity. Who will deny that in its teaching concerning bene¬
volence, humility, truthfulness, purity, compassion, it has exerted a
restraining influence against the evil passions of selfishness, pride.

Ind heathen systems of religion.

95

April.]

falsehood, lust and cruelty. Its power to subdue the fierce natures
of men is perhaps best illustrated by its influence upon the Mongo-
lian character. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries vast
hordes of Mongols followed their intrepid leaders over a wider
sweep of conquest than history had before recorded,—from the
Pacific on the east to the Mediterranean on the west, from the Indian
Ocean on the south almost to the Arctic Ocean on the north; and their
conquests were everywhere marked with that savage cruelty that
testifies to their wild, ungoverned natures. But Buddhism, through
Tibet, was gradually propogated in Mongolia, and was accepted with
the ardor of a rude and superstitious people; and the influence of
its doctrines of humanity in modifying their ruthless character has
been marked and unquestionable.

If we turn to the religion of Ancient Greece we find it to be
rather the product of a gorgeous aesthetic fancy than a deep reli¬
gious faith. The Greeks, though broken into separate states, which
were constantly warring with one another for supremacy, yet were
united by their religious institutions, their feasts and games, and
above all by the Delphic Oracle where the Amphictyonic Council
was held, the real central power of Greece. The Greeks transferred
to the gods their highest ideals of grace and perfection, along with
the entire range of human desires and passions, and in return their
delicate and refined religion, operated with a reflex influence upon
the thoughts of the people, stimulating sculpture and elocution,
literature and art, and carrying Greecian culture far beyond that of
surrounding nations, making the incomparable productions of this
gifted people models for imitation in subsequent ages.

Roman Imperial worship had altogether a historical develop¬
ment along with the growth of the Imperial power. Virtue is the
one bulwark of strength in a government by the people, and in the
general decay of morality the Roman State was saved from anarchy
and dissolution by the reins of government being grasped by a
single powerful hand. The deification of men illustrious for virtue
or deeds of valor has been common in every heathen land. The
Roman regard for law and authority, stimulated by the strong
instinct of self-protection against lawless power, led them to cloth
their emperors with ever-increasing dignity, until they gave them
seats among the gods, and for the first time the heterogeneous,
nationalities united under the Roman dominion, were united in
religion by the mangificent ceremonial of Imperial worship. It was
under the ablest Emperors that this new system of-worship received
its highest development, and by its magnificent temples, its impos¬
ing array of officiating priests, its splendid festivals and oostly

96 THE RELATION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY [March'

games, contributed to strengthen the Imperial power, and defer the
day of its over throw.

II.—But-we turn from this hasty sketch of some of the benefi¬
cial effects of heathen religious teachings, to give a like hasty sketch
of the tendency of heathen religions to exaggerate and distort those
truths to which they give the greatest prominence, and to ignore or
neglect other truths which in Christian teachings occupy an equal
or a higher place.

The doctrine of obedience to parents has received in China an
abnormal development, until this secondary obligation lias usurped
the place of the primary obligation of obedience to God. The
essence of heathenism is found in the worship of the creature rather
than the Creator, and the fact that Confucianism conserves the
important doctrine of filial piety, does not redeem it from the
charge of being a false system of creature worship. Perhaps we
should look in vain for a better illustration of the saying that fr an
exaggerated truth may become a dangerous error.” It is far
less difficult to convince the heathen of the folly of image worship,
than to separate the tangled threads of truth and error in the
system of ancestral worship, and thus persuade their consciences that
it contains an element of evil. But by so far as ancestral worship
lias obtained a stronger hold upon the moral and religions convic¬
tions of men than image worship, by so far is its antagonism to the
pure Theism of Christianity more subtle and obstinate. Again the
duty of filial obedience in its perpetual reiteration has almost buried
from sight the related duties of husband to wife and of parent to
child- Mencius defends himself from the charge of keeping company
with a man who has a national reputation for unfilial conduct, by
explaining that the conduct of his friend is misunderstood, that his
only offense is that of excessively urging his father to right conduct
resulting in his father’s driving him from home. But that he has
the true spirit of obedience is demonstrated by the fact that he sent
away his wife and drove forth his son, denying himself the happiness
of their cherishing attentions because he had offended his father.
If Mencius does not intend to approve of the rejection of wife and
child as a right act, he at least shows no realization of its injustice
and cruelty. In Mencius’ list of five unfilial things we find as one,
“ selfish attachment to wife and children,” and this offense is often
discussed in Chinese writings, while the opposite, of neglect of wife
and children through excessive attention to the wishes of parents, is
never mentioned. The effect of this distorted teaching is seen in
the very constitution of Ohinese society. Women are not companions
but servants, at best to be treated only with condescending kind-

AND HEATHEN SYSTEMS OF KELIGION.

97

April-]

ness, and kept in careful subordination to the will of the stronger
sex, excluding them from those opportunities of culture which would
place them at the side and not at the feet of those with whom their
destinies are linked in life. On one occasion Confucius’, disciple
Ch'en K'ano sought to learn from the Master’s son, Po Yu, whether
he had received lessons of instruction from his father different from
those imparted to others. Among the things learned by this inquiry
was an inference concerning the relation between Confucius and his
son, that“ The superior man maintains a distant reserve towards his
son.” The Confucian ideal of the relation between parent and child
is one of dignified reserve, while that between child and parent is
one of assiduous servility. Society organized upon the basis of such
principles can hut tend to suppress the spirit of hearty obedience to
parents, and to produce instead the mnltiplied forms of a cold and
dead mannerism.

As Confucianism centres its thought in the family, so Buddhism
centres its thought in the individual. Deliverance from the
dominion of sorrow and evil through the slow process of self-dis¬
cipline is the goal of its instructions. But the duty of self-disci¬
pline is magnified to inordinate proportions, to the neglect of duties
to family and society. Our Saviour rebuked the Jews for making
void the word of God by their traditions, saying that “ If a man
shall say to his father or his mother, that wherewith thou mightest
have beeu profited by me is Corban, that is to say, ‘ Given to God’;
ye no longer suffer him to do ought for his father, or his mother.”
In like manner Buddhism makes void the word of God written in
every human heart, in teaching men to renounce the claims of family
and society in a vain effort at self-purification. In Mongolia and
Tibet the celibate priests constitute a large proportion of the male
inhabitants, and the Chinese Government shrewdly encourages this
condition of things, to the end that population may not increase,
and control may be more easily exercised. It is true that the same
error which we are pointing out in Buddhism has existed in the
Christian church, but only as a later element of human corruption
and not as an integral part of its life.

The Grecian Religion—while by the noble and beautiful forms
which art gave to its divinities it stimulated aesthetic culture—by its
exhibition of the vices of the gods corrupted the morality of the
people. The impure myths represented in pictures and statues,
enacted in plays, and rehearsed in song, tended to poison the very
fountains of social purity. Says Plato “ Everybody will begin to
excuse his own vices when he is convinced that similar wickednesses
are always being perpetrated by the kindred of the Gods.” “If I

98 THE RELATION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY [March-

could only catch Aphrodite” exclaimed Antisthenes “ I would pierce
her through with, a javelin, she has corrupted so many of our modest
and excellent women.” And this evil struck deeper than the
Grecian Sages apprehended, their own moral vision being obscured
by the corrupting atmosphere by which they were surrounded. The
pure virtues of the family life were but imperfectly appreciated by
the noblest minds of Greece. Says Uhlhorn : “The family life, in
the true meaning of the words, the Greek did not know.” Plato
makes a community of wives a characteristic of his ideal republic.
Socrates asks of one of his friends, “ Is there a human being with
whom you talk less than with your wife.” He frequented the house
of Astasia, the mistress of Pericles, and in this strange society
discoursed on virtue! He visited Theodota, a woman of similar
character and counselled her how best to prosecute her business of
winning and keeping “friends.” Demosthenes tells us without
seeming appreciation of the social evil involved, “We have others
for our pleasure, wives to bear us children and to care for our house¬
holds.” Thus while Grecian civilization was flowering forth its
most exquissite forms of external beauty, a canker was already
forming in its heart which boded speedy decay and dissolution.

The growth of Roman Imperialism marked a stage of decline in
the virtue of the people. Already powerful forces of evil were
operating that tended to disintegrate, aud the one door of escape
from Bocial anarchy was found in a central autocracy. The dignity
of the Roman citizen was crushed beneath the heavy wheels of the
Imperial Juggernaut, and the rights of men were surrendered before
the altars of the national gods. But at last these gods proved
themselves to be all too human before the fierce attacks of the wild
barbarian hordes, and Roman effete civilization gave place to a new
civilization, rude indeed at first, but vigorous, and capable of inde¬
finite expansion. Doctrines concerning the rights and the dignity
of the individual man which were lost by the Greeks in anarchy,
and by the Romans in despotism, have been recast by Christianity
as a powerful leaven into the new civilization, which is reorganizing
society after the pattern of a loftier ideal than entered into the
minds of the Greeks or the Romans to conceive, and the grand
truth is coming to be ever more clearly apprehended that all men
are equals in their common dependence upon the one great Ruler
above.

In early ages men, by observation, gained a fragmentary know¬
ledge concerning the relation of the stars in their courses, but with¬
out the unifying truth of the sun as the centre of a system of worlds,
their knowledge remained crude and imperfect ; so heathen religions

AND HEATHEN SYBTEMS OP RELIGION.

99

April]

Have embodied fragments of knowledge concerning the relations
and tke duties of men, but without the unifying truth of God as the
centre of a great spiritual system, such knowledge has remained
crude and admixed with error, powerless to organize itself into a
consistent whole. Lao Tsu, the founder of Taoism, apprehended
the truth that there is a subtle, invisible law operating everywhere
in nature, and that it is the duty of man to bring his life into har¬
mony with this law; but in striving to attain this end through self-
renunciation he cast off those obligations to society which nature
has linked the life of every man to his fellow man. In the religion
of India we read of the self-existent, eternal Brahma as the source
of all being. But we look in vain for this shadow of truth to resolve
itself into the clear substance of Christian revelation. The ultimate
goal of a long and weary course of discipline is not conscious joy in
the presence of the Ineffable One, but rather reabsorption into a
vague, impersonal That. The being in whose face we had almost
caught the lineaments of the Christian’s God, vanishes in the popu¬
lar worship into obscurity and forgetfulness, and the truth of the
dignity of the soul of man in its origin is corrupted by human pride
into the cruel and degrading system of caste.

III.—But let us further inquire what heathen systems of religion
teach us concerning God, sin, holiness, redemption, immortality.
Universal history unites in testifying with the Christian
Scriptures, that mankind have never liked to retain God in their
knowledge. But meu cannot break loose from their environments,
they cannot wholly stifle thought, or silence the warnings of con¬
science; and so there come to us ever and anon plaintive voices from
out the midst of heathenism, as from lost children wretched in their
wanderings from a father’s home, and crying for guidance to a
place of rest and peace. As human nature in its degeneracy yet
retains many lineaments of character which point to the Divinity of
its origin, so too the broken fragments of a Divine original reappear
amid the corrupted forms of heathen worship. But like a beautiful
picture reflected from the shattered surface of a mirror, we catch
but glimpses of the original, and are ever baffled in our effort to
discover the completed image. Wo learn by inquiry into the early
history of the human race, that the first steps of apostasy from God
were through the deification of those objects and powers in nature
in which the Divine energy was most conspicuously manifested in
the government and protection of men. Job in his suffering urged
his innocence of this form of creature worship which prevailed about
him. “ If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in
brightness, and my heart has been secretly enticed, or my mouth

100 THE RELATION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY [March-

hath kissed my hand: I should have denied the God that is above.”
Shun, the sage emperor of China, presented a burnt offering to
heaven, and sacrificed in order to the hills and rivers. He divided
his empire into twelve provinces, appointing in each a central
mountain as a guardian divinity over the surrounding country.
And this nature worship which thus appears completely organized
in the very dawn of Chinese history has been crystalized in the state
religion, descending from generation to generation. It is an in¬
teresting discovery in philology that the Jupiter of the Romans, and
the Zeus of the Greeks were identical in origin with the Dyaus of
the ancient hymns of the Hindu Veda, and that their meaning was
sky, or the shining one. But while the unimaginative mind of the
Chinese has clung to the early conception of heaven as the exalted
ruler, the shining one of the early Aryans was swiftly changed by
tbeir active imaginations into new and scarcely recognizable forms.
In the further degeneracy of heathen worship we discover two
tendencies, one scholastic, the other popular. To more reflective
minds nature in all its rich variety of manifestations, has been bound
together in the unity of an all-pervasive law, but in ignorance of the
intelligent source of such directing, sustaining law, the universe has
been thought to be self-evolved and self-sustained; and thus
pantheism is the dreary, desert waste through which scholastic
heathenism wanders in a vain search for the springs of the water of
life. But to the popular mind each energy in nature has its pre¬
siding deity. The winds and the rain, growth and decay, famine
and pestilence, peace and war, life and death, each and all are ruled
by their respective gods, who are to be supplicated and propitiated
by gifts and offerings. Thus the indictment of Scripture against
the Gentile world is confirmed by the testimony of history that,
“ Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed
the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to cor¬
ruptible man”

But if heathenism fails to teach us concerning the character of
God, it necessarily fails to teach us concerning the nature of sin.
There is an order of truth which we discern in the Biblical revela,
tion. God mnst first be made known in the holiness of his character,
in the just requirements of his law, before sin can stand revealed as
exceedingly sinful. The Bible narrative is a record of human
transgressions, not against conscience simply, or against the abstract
law of right but against the living God, who cannot look upon
iniquity with allowance. Thus the Biblical conception of sin is heart
alienation from God. The sinful human heart is a deep fountain of
bitter waters that sends forth a corrupting stream through all' the

AND HEATHEN SYSTEMS OP RELIGION.

101

April.]

channels of life. But heathenism conceives of sin chiefly in its
human relations, and even in these lower relations its guilt and
defilement is but imperfectly apprehended. It is a desire—to be
cured by self discipline; a debt—to be cancelled by meritorious acts;
ignorance—to be removed by study and contemplation. Confucius
was perpetually talking of the ease with which the doctrines of tho
Sages could transform the lives of men and the institutions of
society; and this in strange blindness to all the lessons which the
history of the past had taught, and which liis own experience con¬
firmed concerning the deep-seated virulence of sin; and these
shallow sentiments were crystalized in Classic phrase, to be repeated
from generation to generation by admiring disciples, while the power
of sin was unbroken, and the institutions of society remained
unrefomed.

As heathenism fails in its conception of the guilt of sin, so does
it fail iu its ideal of a holy life. In its forgetfulness of God, and
the perfections of his character, it forms for itself dwarfed and
distorted models of virtue, the creations of darkened understandings
and of diseased spiritual vision. The founders of religions have all
been men who have embodied their doctrines in their lives, and thus
their lives have become models for imitation by their followers. In
Lao Tsu we see a man earnest and contemplative, who with a
philosophers’s eye perceives that the end of worldly strife and ambi¬
tion is vanity and emptiness, but who hides himself from those evils
which he cannot remedy, seeking to subdue his earthly appetites by
a life of apathy and inaction, and the goal of all this self-discipline
is not transformation into the image of the living God, but assimila¬
tion to a blind, unconscious power in nature.

To the followers of Confucius the character of their great
master is complete in every human virtue; and a just estimation
of his life must give him a high place among the distinguished
names of the heathen world. He saw with clearness and stated
with accuracy many important truths concerning the relations
and duties of men. He was pure in life, earnest and sincere in. his
convictions, and anxious to correct the evils of his times. But liis
thoughts were wholly centered in this present life. He describes
himself as one who in his eager pursuit of knowledge forgets his
food, and in the joy of its attainment forgets his sorrows, and who
does not perceive that old age is coming on. He dismisses his dis¬
ciple’s inquiry concerning death as involving mysteries that he
cannot explain. In his sickness he displays no sense of the need of
prayer. He commends the formal worship of the gods, but warns

102 THE RELATION DETWEEN CHRISTIANITY [March-

that they should be kept at a distance. Thus the horizon of
Confucius’ thoughts was bounded by the present life, and the
impress of his teachings is abundantly manifested in the worldly
character of this people.

Buddha is represented to us as one having the profoundest
sympathy with the misery of humanity. But to him there is no
Heavenly Father to whom the earthly child can look for guidance ;
there is no light of hope to allure the soul to the joys of a brighter
world; existence is misery, and the only escape is in the dark, silent
vacuity of Nirvana. With what relief do we turn from these heathen
conceptions of a holy life to the life which Christ lived among men-
Who so humble as He ? Who so pure and true ? Who so full of
sympathy and compassion ? Who so unselfish in his suffering love ?
Though for a little time a dweller in the world, His life was above
the world, centered in God. In Him the image of God lost in Eden
was restored again to men, and the curse of death was swallowed
up in the blessed hope of immortal life.

As heathenism hides from itself its deep heart alienation
from God, and deceives itself with false patterns of virtue, so it has
no clear conception of the true means of redemption from the
dominion of sin. Instances may indeed be multiplied of attempts
to expiate the guilt of sin, and thus avert the wrath of the gods.
The blood-offering for sin, so prominent in the Jewish worship, has
reappeared in many of the heathen systems of religion; and in this
ceremony we read the more serious confession of heathen conscious¬
ness that a reparation is needed to avert the punishment of sin.
But while in the Jewish religion the thought of expiation grew ever
clearer, until it culminated in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, in
heathen religions it has grown ever more vague and shadowy, hidden
under less serious forms of worship, consisting of gifts and offerings,
of feasts and processions, of penances and purifications. The gods
of the Greeks were as full of moral obliquity as men, and hence the
end of worship was rarely to appease offended justice, but chiefly to
win the favor of the gods, and secure their protection and help.
The gods of the Homans were beings of official rank and dignity, to
be approached with punctilious ceremonies, and from these forms of
worship the proud Homan turned away with the comfortable thought
that liis accounts for the present were balanced with the gods.
We have in the early history of China the beautiful incident of the
Emperor T'ang offering himself in a form of sacrifice to Shang Ti as
a substitute for the people, to arrest the miseries of protracted
famine. But the history of Confucianism reveals no growing need
of a sacrifice for sin, or of a mediator to restore the broken relation

April.] AND HEATHEN SV8TEM8 OF RELK3I0N. 103

between God and man. Self-culture in imitation of the Ancient
Sages is an all-sufficient power to eliminate the last vestiges of evil
from the human heart. In Buddhism and Taoism there is no offended
God to he propitiated, and self renunciation, which is but another
form of self-culture, is the one road of escape from the evils of life.
We learn that the fall of man, as recorded in Genesis, was a revolt
from subjection to the will of God ; and the self will of an apostate
race has driven forward the different nations of men, under the
ineradicable religious instinct, each in its own peculiar line of self¬
purification. And this self-discipline, apart from dependence on
help from God, tends to pride and self-complacency. It is the work-
righteousness which the Apostle Paul condemns. And precisely
here is the root of the deep antagonism which heathenism has ever
shown toward Christianity. The doctrines of Christianity centre in
the cross of Christ, and to every phase of heathenism the cross of
Christ is a stumbling-block and an offense. It condemns the world
as guilty before God and powerless for self-deliverance : and to this
sentence the human heart cries out in rebellion, until touched by the
spirit of God, and taught to utter the publican’s prayer: “ God be
merciful to me a sinner.”

Belief in a future life of some form is common to the various
heathen religions; but to them all the world beyond the grave is a
vague and shadowy region. It 13 often a matter of wonder to the
Christian scholar, that the doctrine of immortality, so prominent
and vital in his own religious thoughts, was so slow in emerging into
light in the ancient Scriptures. But the history of heathenism
testifies that the thought of immortality, apart from the knowledge
of the just and holy God who inhabits eternity, has no necessarily
ennobling influence upon the lives of men, but rather that it con¬
stantly lends itself as a ready element in those superstitions which
darken and degrade the lives of men. And thus we recognize the
wisdom of that progress of doctrine which first teaches man his duty
towards God, and upon this sure foundation builds the hope of a
blessed immortality. The Apostle Paul describes the heathen as
“ Having no hope, and without God in the world,” and while the
voices that come to ns from heathenism concerning the future life
are confused and discordant, the prevailing undertone is that of
sadness and despair. Life is seen to be ebbing swiftly to a close.
Like a shadow, like a dream men pass' away. Writes Tacitus : “ If
there is a place for the spirits of the pious, if, as the wise suppose,
great souls do not become extinct with their bodies.” “If!” says
Dr. Uhlhorn, “in that if lies the whole torturing uncertainty of

104 TSS RELATION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY [March-

heathenism.” We meet another phase of heathen hopelessness in
the attempt of some to smile on death as a welcome oblivion, into
which the soul escapes from the miseries of life. Caesar announced
before an approving auditory in the Roman Senate that: “ Beyond
this life there is no place for trouble or joy •” and Seneca consoles
himself with the thought that suicide is an ever-open door out of a
miserable world,—a door through which many noble Romans passed
into eternity. Thus heathenism like a broken vessel driven with
fierce winds and scourged with wild waves, drifts on towards the
dark unknown, without chart or compass.

IV.—The question as to the origin of the more spiritual truths
which lie imbedded in heathen systems of religion is one which has
justly occupied the attention of Christian scholars. To this question
the answer is often given that they are but broken fragments of the
primitive Divine revelation, which has been preserved among the
different races of men. Mdller, in his lecture on Missions, tells us
that: “ The earliest beginnings of all religions withdraw themselves
by necessity from the eyes of the historian.” The primeval history
of man is separated from the early history of the ethnic races by a
broad belt of fable and uncertainty. It follows that the greatest
modesty and care should be exercised in tracing truths that appear
in different religious systems to a common origin. A dozen springs
scattered over the surface of a plain, though they send forth waters
alike pure and sweet, do not necessarily have their common source
in the distant mountain lake. But if they are all characterized by
some peculiar flavor identical with the waters of the lake we are
forced to the conclusion that they have a common source. Thus we
are not justified in tracing to a primitive revelation those truths
and ceremonies of worship, the origin of which can be fully accounted
for by the religious nature of man. It is only when we meet with
peculiar truths or institutions of worship analogous to those of which
record is made in the Hebrew Scriptures that we are justified in
claiming identity of origin.

The Persian doctrines concerning Ahriman, the personal
principle of evil, and of the fall of man, are clearly reflections of the
Biblical narrative of the temptation and fall of Adan:. The wide¬
spread institution of sacrifice among ancient nations is a rite of wor¬
ship so peculiar in its nature that its traditional origin seems to
admit of little question. Amid the nature-worship and polythiesm
into which we find the gentile nations sunk at the very dawn of his¬
tory, many scholars believe that they recognize the fading knowledge
of the living God, and trace its origin to the pure Theism of prime-

AND HEATHEN SYSTEMS OF RELIGION.

105

April.]

val relation.* But there are many important truths' concerning the
relations and obligations of man that are woven like threads of gold
into the texture of heathen religions, that bear no trace of a foreign
origin, and give abundant evidence of an indigenous birth and an
independant growth. Heathen ethical and religious teachers have
not been wholly blind to the hand-writing of God in nature and
providence, and upon the tablet of the human heart; and without a
revelation Lao Tzu could describe the grace of humility, Buddah
of compassion, and Confucius of reciprocal kindness. There is
a second explanation of the origin of those higher conceptions
of truth that are found in heathen religions—that they are Divine
revelation, that heathen teachers were iuspired oracles of God.
We are not surprised that writers should hold such language
who deny the peculiar supernatural origin of Christianity, and in
spite of their borrowed Christian terminology mean only that all
religions are creations of the human heart, and that all truth is
a Divine revelation; but such language is occasionally heard from
the lips of Christian scholars, and we can hut enquire into its
significance. The Biblical doctrine of inspiration is that of Divine,
supernatural direction and illumination in the enunciation of truth,
and we search in vain for any Scriptural testimony to the proposition
that such Divine direction and illumination is given to the founders
of heathen systems of religion. Throughout the Bible the heathen
are described as wandering in their own vain imaginations. Isaiah.
prophesies of the time when God shall destroy “ the face of the
covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all
nations.” Paol restrains the idolatrous citizens of Lystra from their
intended worship of himself and Barnabas as gods, by urging them
to turn from these vanities unto the living God, “ Who in time
past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways, nevertheless He
loft not himself without a witness,”—not an internal revelation in
the hearts of Sages and religious teachers, but external in nature,—
<c in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful
seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” The prophets
aud apostles spake as men sent from' God, conscious that they were
entrusted with a Divine message to their fellow men. Their language
was: “Thus saith the Lord,”— “Tire Lord saith unto me,”—“The
Lord spake thus to me,”—-“Then the word of the Lord came unto
me.” Their testimony was urgent and authoritative, stamped with

a This view is opposed by other scholars of equal candor and erudition. It is
urged that in live religions of India, of Persia and of Greece monotheistic ideas
do not grow clearer as we ascend the stream of early history, but rather that
they are of subsequent growth, the results of philosophical thoaght.

106 TEE RELATION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY [March-

the assurance that their words were the words of God. But we
discover no such lofty consciousness of being the bearers of a Divine
message among the founders of heathen systems of philosophy and
religion. Socrates did indeed feel himself urged by the voice of an
accompanying deamon to undertake the work of renovating society,
and Confucius regarded himself as appointed of heaven to correct
the evils of his times. Bub such convictions of heathen reformers
were dim and intangible as compared with the clear consciousness
of prophets and apostles that God was speaking .through them to
Hi 9 people. Again there is a unity and progress of doctrine in the
Christian Scriptures, culminating in the completed revelation of
the kingdom of God among men, while in heathenism there is
confusion and retrogression,-—men thinking themselves wise only
to sink into deeper and darker depths of folly and hopelessness.
Above all in Jewish history while on the human side there
is a persistant tendency to corruption and apostasy, the Jewish
religion is not developed from within, but is imposed from with¬
out, and refuses to attach to itself distorted views of duty and
of destiny, and in its symmetry of doctrine and perfection of
adaptation to the wants of men, testifies with ever clearer emphasis
that its origin is Divine ; while the mingling of truth and falsehood
in heathen religions testifies with equal emphasis that their origin
is in the- human heart,, unilluminatad by the sun-light of Divine
revelation.

V.—The relations between Christianity and heathenism 1 in the
past teach ns important lessons with regard to those relations in the
present and the future. If Christianity is a new wine that could
not be poured into the old bottles of Judaism, much less can it be
poured into the broken bottles of heathenism. The early growth of
the Christian Church was seriously embarrassed by two forms of
heathen thought which strove to blend themselves with the doctrines
of Christianity. The first was Gnosticism which cast the teachings
of Christ into an alembic along with those of Plato and Zoroaster,
and sought to produce from these heterogenious elements an elixir
of life. The second was Manichaeism, which in a similar manner,
mingled a mutilated Christianity with Persian dualism and pantheis¬
tic Buddhism. The result of this compromise with heathen specula¬
tion so far as it was successful, was the utter loss of the vital truths
in the Christian scheme of religion. The doctrines of human guilt
and a Divine atonement were buried from sight under false views
of the nature of sin, and fanciful conceptions of the person and work
of Christ. The Christian Church came forth from its long con-

AND HEATHEN SYSTEMS OF RELIGION.

107

April.]

troversy with these subtle forms of error, with the deepened convic¬
tion that the truths received from Christ and the Apostles were not
detached and fragmentary,, to be blended at the caprice of men with
human speculations, but rather that they were organic and complete
in themselves, and adapted to the deepest wants of man. The
causes of the degeneracy of the Christian Church in the middle
ages can be traced partly to contact with heathenism from with¬
out, but chiefly to the development of the spirit of heathenism from
within. The growth of a Christian hierarchy, culminating in the
extravagant and unchristian pretensions of the Papacy, was in
imitation of Roman Imperialism. Unscriptural doctrines concern¬
ing purgatory, the worship of saints and angels, works of supere¬
rogation, indulgences, transubstantiation, baptismal regeneration,
priestly absolution, along with ever-increasing ostentation in the
ceremonies of worship, and ever-deepening poverty of spiritual life,
mark the sure drift of the Roman church back again into the dark¬
ness of heathenism; and only God who had given birth to his church
in the beginning could deliver her from the power of paganism
through the severe convulsion of the Protestant Reformation. The
Christiau chui’ch is doubtless no longer in danger of corruption
from the crude superstitions of heathenism, but there is a not less
serious source of danger in the disposition of many western scholars
professedly Christian, to degrade Christianity from its supreme
place among the religions of the world, and to give to the Son of
God only a seat of honor among the illustrious sons of men. The
ancient prophet saw in a vision holy water issuing forth from the
temple of God, and flowing onward into the desert country, and on
the sides of the river sprang up beautiful trees whose leaves
did not fade, and whose fruit was not consumed. Thus the river of
life that issues forth from the throne of God flows on with an ever-
deepening current through the desert of a sin-ruined world, giving
beauty and gladness to all alpng its borders. Christianity is a
temple of God, not built with human hands, resting upon inspired
prophets and apostle3 as its foundation, Jesus Christ himself being
the chief corner stone. We bring to the heathen a new religion,—•
Gcd, new to their thoughts; life, new in its destiny; love, new in its
compassion; sin, new in its guilt; holiness, new in its perfection;
and redemption, new in its power.

108

THE OPIUM QUESTION.—A REVIEW.

[March-

THE OPIUM QUESTION.—A REVIEW.

By Dr. J. Dcdgkon.

\ RGUMENT lias lately been raging round tlie question of the
innocuousness of opium. “ Our own authorities,” says the
Times “ on materia mediea are by no means convinced that opium is
always and necessarily injurious even in this country. The practice
of some hundreds of millions {sic !) of the human race prove opium to
be adapted to satisfy some human want. Opium is to the Chinese
what beer, spirits, tobacco, tea, coffee, etc., are to others of the human
races. In the controvessy about the Indian export of opium to
China, the inherent and unmitigated pernieiousness of the drug has
usually been taken for granted. Timidity is not a failing of the
non-scientific mind, aud it is not surprising that the dogmas held
in respect of opium eating in this country are unhesitatingly extended
to cover every method of consuming every kind of opium every¬
where by all races of men.” Dr. Sir George Birdwood, a presumed
scientific authority, formerly a Professor of Materia Medica at
Bombay and holding an appointment in the India office, comes for¬
ward in the columns of the Times (December 26, 1881 and January
20 , 1882} (and which letters are published as anappendex with note
in Mr. Brereton’s work on The Truth About Opium, issued by the pub¬
lishers to the India office,) as the champion of opium, and proclaims
its absolutely harmless character and therefore the absurdity of all
this outcry on behalf of poor Chinese. He does not even place it in
the same' category with tobacco,-smoking, which may in itself, if
carried to excess, be injurious, particularly to young people under
twenty-five, bub he means that opium-smoking, of itself, is as harm¬
less as smoking willow bark, or inhaling tlie smoke of a peat fire, or
vapour of boiling water. He goes on to quote his authorities stating,
That Medhurst (China) is the weightiest lay authority against it, and
Marsden (Sumatra) in its defence. A number of Indian professional
authorities are quoted who protest against the indiscriminate con¬
demnation directed by prejudiced or malicious writers against it.
The only China professional authority quoted is Dr. Ayres, of
Hongkong, who says: “ No China resident believes in the terrible
frequency of the dull, sodden-wifcted, debilitated opium-smoker met
with in print.” He justly places great weight on professional
evidence, but nevertheless he fails to quote a single medical man in
China, the published views of a score of them since 1838 being quite
well-known. It is very remarkable that nearly all tlie professional
evidence collected in India is in favour of opium, and what is recorded

THE 0PID3I QUESTION.—A REVIEW.

109

April.]

against it applies only to the abase of the practice. On tbe other
hand almost all the professional evidence presented by the profession
in China, where the drug is smoked, is against opium. The lay
element generally, in other words the merchant class in both
countries, is in favour of the drug. There are some notable lay
examples in China to the contrary, and, although unknown to me,
doubtless also in India. The missionary and religious and
philanthropic element has not been expressed in India with half the
force with which it has been proclaimed in China. Although Sir
CrEOBGE has thus thrown himself into the breach and, in my opinion,
thus committed a species of professional suicide, it is to be feared
that his advocacy of its utter harmlessness may have precipitated
the question and expedited the catastrophe which, in the interests of
his patrons, he has sought to delay if nob altogether avert. The
only test he asks is for each person to try it experimentally, and he feels
satisfied that the more thoroughly persons test it, the more strongly
will they he convinced with him that the smoking of opium is, of
itself, a perfectly innocuous indulgence. The evil effects he has
witnessed have always been in cases of moral imbeciles who were
addicted to other forms of depravity, and the opium pipe, so absolutely
harmless, was merely the last straw laid on their inherently
enervated and overstrained hacks. These are the cases of desperate
suffering, resulting apparently from excess in opium-smoking, which
unscientific observers hold up in tcrrorcm before the British public.
He insists on the downright innocency in itself of opium smoking;
that there is no more harm in it than smoking the mildest cigarettes
and that its narcotic effect can be but infinitesimal, if indeed any¬
thing measurable, and therefore he feels bound to publicly express
these convictions which can easily he put to the test of experiment
at the present moment. The great confusion set up here by such a
fallacious test, which has not only led Sir George himself but the
public astray, is easily exposed.. In the sense in which the test is to.
be applied, he is doubtless correct, but the public have taken it up
in the sense of the continual addiction to the habit. By what test
does he then seek to decide the harmlessuess or otherwise of opium
smoking ? Why the best of all—personal trial. It can be easily done.
You will find it quite unlike a poisonous dose of opium, strychnia,
arsenic, or corrosive sublimate, or even nicotine taken, by the mouth.
This is the sure and infallible tost of an article being poisonous or
not. Apply the same test to a glass of any intoxicant and see
whether the absurd denunciations against drink are not absurd. I
declare it to be downright innocency. In like manner try a whiff
■of tobacco and is there any rhyme or reason iu the counterblasts,

110 THE OPIUM QUESTION.—A REVIEW. [March

royal or otherwise, against this narcotic ? So with opium. The
worst that is experienced is a little nausea and head ache which
soon pass off ; but does that warrant the indiscriminating agitation
which is being manufactured against the Indian revenue on the
ground of its falsely-imputed immorality and of the destructive effects
of the drug based on the unscientific observations of others ? The
above is the line of argument pursued for the most part. It is a
fallacious test. Opium-smoking is not a deadly poison in the sense
in which a tonic dose of the same substance taken into the
stomach; but the habit grows by what it feeds on. Let the condi¬
tion of the smoker be described after a few years of indulgence, strip¬
ped of all concomitant vices, and let U3 have the result. Let it be
shown that it is a most fascinating vice—to the Chinese system at
least, a people with leisure, and little or nothing to occupy body or
mind—that its hold over its victims is more tenacious than drink,
and that once the habit is formed and confirmed, it is with difficulty
abandoned and then we shall be prepared to discuss the physical,
mental and financial injury which it inflicts. Several foreigners
have tried the effect of the pipe upon themselves and have published
their experiences and they do not materially differ from those
advanced by Dr. Birdwood. But this is altogether a false issue.
It is not one experiment nor a series of tests thus made, by which
the evils of opium are to be demonstrated. We admit that, at first,
there is some pleasure, after the initiatory stage of discomfort is
passed, just as there is pleasure connected in most cases with
smoking a cigar. It looks manly and respectable, makes the
smoker appear to be in easy circumstances, it whiles away time that
hangs heavily on his hands; it is social; it produces a certain
amount of exhiliaration of spirits; increases mental and physical
energy for a time; it provides something to look at and to be
amused with, and takes some little art to do it well. This period is,
however, short-lived; after the habit is confirmed, the drug is had
recourse to, not for the pleasure or benefit that accrued formerly
from it, but to remove the unpleasantness and injury attending the
non-gratification of the imperious necessity. Or as Coleridge put it
“ My sole sensuality was not to be in pain.”

Sir George limits his sweeping assertion in so far as
to say that the experiment must be made under proper
precautions against the risk of using imperfectly prepared ex¬
tract. The position here assumed is in itself so absurd, that it
carries its own refutation. No wonder that he was suspected of
having private purposes to serve by such an advocacy of the ques¬
tion. The evil does not lie in the quality of the prepared extract

Apiil.] THE OPIUM QUESTION.—A REVIEW. Ill

but is inherent in the drug, however prepared. Not even the
strongest pro-opium advocate who has ever been in China, we ven¬
ture to say, could endorse such extreme views. It is perhaps not to
be wondered at that the Hongkong solicitor, who has padded his
superficial work with such appendices, should have put himself
under so distinguished an authority. He also adopts similar views
and seeks to support them by strong declamation, but hardly an iota
of fact or sound argument. It is useless to try and combat such
views by a recital of all the evils of opium-smoking. Suffice it here
to say that although alcohol and tobacco have their numerous
defenders and users both East and West; among the three or four
hundred millions of Chinese, not one can be found to defend the use
of opium, whether among the smokers or non-smokers. And this is
no blind prejudice or hypocrisy. After twenty years extensive
medical practice among them, seeing and questioning thousands oE
smokers and tens of thousands of non-smokers, I have not yet
found one who had a good word to say of it. Foreigners there are,
but no Chinese, who seek to defend it. Sir Ruthertord Alcock, him¬
self now apparently a pro-opium advocate, gave evidence before the
E. I. Finance committee that the smokers looked upon themselves a3
morally criminal, and that his experience bore out the opinion
expressed by a former witness that the Chinese- universally admit
that the effects of opium-smoking are bad. No doubt with opium
as with drink there is much profligacy connected with it, the one
leads to the other j but it would be a grievous error to suppose that
the opium shops serve merely for the old Roman label “ Hie habitat
felicitas.” The great body of the smokers now indulge at home,
and although even there it may be resorted to with aphrodisiac
motives, still there stands out clear and palpable the enormous evils
of addiction to the drug. In neither of Sir George's letters is there
a word about the awful force of the habit formed and the difficulty of
breaking it off. It is the strength and imperiousness of this habit that
has riveted this form of slavery and produces the evil. One, two, or a
dozen whiffs are no test of its innocuousness, but let the drus be
taken regularly twice daily for a month or two, until the habit is
formed and confirmed, then- a different result will be arrived at.
Haring the formation of the habit the result produced will be
neutral or favourable. Sir George makes the wild statement that
“ opium lias been smoked for generations in China, even within the
precincts of the Imperial Palace at Pekin/ 5 but for this sweeping
assertion not a particle of proof is adduced. He asserts that the
Arabs first carried opium to China in the ninth century and that up
to the sixteenth century the Chinese themselves continued to import

112 THE on DM QUESTION'. A REVIEW, [Mar ch¬

it in their junks. Some Arab travellers certainly came to China at
that time and the inference follows that they must have carried
opium. Here also not a particle of proof i3 vouchsafed. Upon such
slender basis are such statements made. Elsewhere he says, “The
wide diffusion throughout the east of the use of opium as distin¬
guished from that of a decoction of poppy beads and of the price of
the entire plant, is particularly connected with the spread of
Mahommedanism and its temperance ordinance against ardent
spirits.” This is doubtless correct, but it does not prove his con¬
tention in regard to China. The early nse in China was confined
to the seeds and a gruel formed from them and the capsules. The
Inspissated juice /.<?. opium,was entirely unknown iutheir books before
the sixteenth century, and came into general use only in this century.
He thinks the practise of opium-smoking was probably introduced
from western China into eastern China about 1650 r but lie no where
indicates where the habit iu western China was derived from,, or
how long it had there previously existed, or whether the vice was
indigenous. These same Arabs to which he refers, moreover, camo
to Canton,, which is on the eastern sea-board, how then did the
habit require to be introduced from remote western China ? Was
the habit then introduced from India? Further on he traces its
origin to- north-eastern India among the tribes inhabiting the high¬
lands between Assam and the Chinese frontier. He judges of the
immemorial practice of opium-smoking by the highly local character
of the decoration of the opium pipes, and in a note he remarks that
he was struck with the close resemblance between the Chinese pipe
and the calumet of the Red Indians, the parent of the various forms
of European tobacco pipes. The readers of the Il/ushvrfed London
JSfaca, where drawings of the pipes of all nations appeared last year,
copied from an exhibition of the same held in London, must also liavo
beem somewhat struck with the resemblance here noticed; but mark
Sir George’3 conclusion—“so that it would seem as if the Chinese
pipe was indeed the forefather of all pipes.” How and where did
the Red Indians borrow their pipe from- the Chinese ? A writer
who reasons in this way knows nothing of the subject. The*
Chinese opium pipe is of quite recent origin and so also is tobacco
smoking. The latter preceded the former too, a fact of which Sir
Geokge is entirely ignorant. The first opium pipe used was a plain
tube of bamboo without any bead. It was first smoked with tobacco,
and then alone.

Another unfounded statement follows, viz.: “That before the
East India Company’s ships carried their first cargo of opuim to
Canton, the practice had spread all over the empire.” No one

THE OPIUM QUESTION.—A REVIEW.

113

April.]

acquainted with liis subject or China could have made such an
absurd statement. Even now it is not universally smoked. The
native growth is but as it were of yesterday, and the Indian drug,
according to the Inspector General of Customs, only reaches one-
third of 1 p.c. of the population, and the import from India is now-
one hundred times greater than what it was one hundred years ago
•when the East India Company began their trade. How then did
the thousand chests of that period satisfy the universal craving!
The native drug is now supposed hy some equal to the Indian
import; by others double; and others make the production in one or
two of the south-western provinces to be about twice or tbrice that
of India. How then can Sir George reconcile these statements with
those advanced by him ? In one of their first ventures, the E.I.
Company had to sell the drug at a ruinously low price—some $200,.
instead of three or four times this amount, and even then the article
proved unsaleable in the hands of the Chinese and was shipped to
the Archipelago. How is this to be accounted for with the universal
prevalence of the habit ? Moreover opium was brought by various
European nations, English among the rest, before the Company
began their venture. The futility of the edict of 1796 is referred to
shewing that already the people were deeply devoted to the habit.
Thatedict was directed against the foreign import at the southern porta.
The native growth and the extension of the habit beyond the two
southern sea-board provinces was not then known. Absurd statements
follow absurd statements until it becomes a painful task to refute
and expose them. To those acquainted with the subiect, these state¬
ments are their own best refutation, but having an air of fact and
authority, they are misleading to the home public. "The deter¬
mined, obstinate instinct of the Chinese people in its favour paralysed
even the despotic endeavours of the Chinese Government to suppress
it; and long before we became entangled in the quarrel between
the Chinese and their government on the subject, the Financial Board
at Peking had advised the recognition of the national habit by the
imposition of a tax on opium, on the ground that the increased
rigour of the laws enforced against its use since the beginning of
the century had only tended to increase the bribes offered to officials
for tbeir connivance in it.” If we substitute "English or foreign
traders” (on account of the profits accruing from it) for " Chinese
people” in the first clause, the sentence will read correctly; and the
memorial to the Throne, advising the imposition of a tax on opium,
was made by Heu Naitse (Hsu Nai An in mandarin) Vice President of
the Sacrificial court in 1835, only threeyears before the first opium war
"This judicious (sic?) proposal was however rejected and when victory

114

THE OPIUM QUESTION A REVIEW.

[March-

crowned their efforts, it served gradually to entice the people away
from the use of their native ardent spirits.” But if this national and
universal habit has been indulged in for generations—even in the Im¬
perial Palace, how is the Chinese crusade in these days against opium
to be accounted for ? The thing is so absurd on the very face of it
as not to need discussion. Prom an array of facts like these he
asserts his belief that opium-smoking is not necessarily injurious to
the Chinese and that therefore the Indian opium revenue is not
immoral. The harmless opium thus becomes the antidote to the
baneful ardent spirits, and opium thus becomes the greatest tem¬
perance triumph of any age or conntry; for Sir George repeats once
and again “ that of itself opium-smoking is almost as harmless an
indulgence as twiddling the thumbs and other silly-looking methods
for concentrating the mind in a momentary nirvana.” Entertaining
such views it is not surprising that Sir Wilfred Lawson twitted him
with not establishing an opium den in London and inviting the
Archbishop of Canterbury to open it. Sir George’s only reply to
this thrust is that here two perfectly distinct things—opium-smoking
and opium dens—are confounded, and gives us to understand that
the habit is only evil from being associated with immorality. The
fault of the Chinese Government is stated to be “ their failing to
distinguish between the accidental concomitants of a debauched life
and the antecedent inducement to it. The official ideas of morality
arc utterly at variance with the universal practice of the people; the
Chinese official ideas of morality being founded on an artificial
religious system and not in the natural habits of the masses of China¬
men.” This is a strange and serious statement which is not borne
out by the facts of the case. At present the case looks quite reversed
in China—the ideas of morality of the people being in advance of the
practice, I will not say theory, of the officials. <f But,” adds Sir
George, “ be that as it may, all I insist upon is the downright inno-
cency,in itself, of opium-smoking and therefore its morality, and
our freedom to raise a revenue from it in India.”

The habitual eating and drinking of opium and opium-smoking
arc, according to him, altogether different things. Opium is and has
been immemorially used throughout vast regions of the East, its use
having been fostered by the religions ban imposed in Asiatic coun¬
tries on the use of alcohol. Any one knowing the history of the use
of opium in the East could not write in this vague manner. Sir
George then proceeds to speak of the innocuonsness of the habit
among the people of India who indulge in the most alarming excess
.with impunity. Of the Rajpoots he says, in opposition to Tod, where
opium he says is based simply on-their inordinate indulgence in it,

THB OPIUM QUESTION.—A REVIEW.

115

April]

“That although they are all from their youth upward, literally
saturated with opium, they are one of the finest, most truthful, and
bravest people in the world.” Are these Rajpoots then quite free
from all the other concomitant vices which are said to characterise
the Asiatic, and particularly the opium-smoker, that they should be
such fine athlete fellows ? How different is his description from the
official report of Sir Charles Aitcheson of the condition of the people
addicted to the habit in British Burmah, and the action tending
towards the restriction of the opium shops, so lately resolved upon aud
now being carried out by our Governments. Does opium alters it
inherent properties only when consumed by Burmese and Chinese ?
Of itself is it absolutely harmless in India and of itself absolutely evil
in Burmah and China ? We know nothing of its usefulness in allay¬
ing the pangs of hunger during long religious fasts, although as
a stimulant it must of course be useful in such circumstances; nor
have we much experience of its preventive character against malarious
fevers. The latter point needs further investigation. If it possesses
any efficacy in this direction, it may be due to its being a stimulant,
the small amount of narcotine which it contains, and upon which its
anti-periodic nature is said to depend, being asserted by Dr. Thudicum
to be left behind in the insoluble refuse. In many cases the asser¬
tion of addiction to the drug to ward off malaria has been merely a sop
to the conscience and to throw off the immorality or blame attach¬
ing to it, and so to make it appear as medicinal and necessary.
Medical reports in the South, where malarial fevers prevail, hardly
I think, bear out its prophylactic character in this respect. In India
the eating and drinking of opium seemed so little harmful to Bird-
wood that he was an advocate of the use of all stimulants in modera¬
tion. He accepts, adopts and urges the theory of the universal
craving of man for some kind of stimulant. The Chinese have gone
on adding to their lists of stimulants; tea, betel nut, wine, spirits,
tobacco (almost universally indulged in) and lastly opium, aud not
one has supplanted the other. They all exist in one and the same
individual, 60 that the argument that as the Englishman has his beer
so the Chinese have their opium, falls to the ground. Sir George
holds that opium is used in Asia in a similar way to alcohol in Europe
and that considering the natural craving and popular inclination for
and the ecclesiastical toleration of it, and its general beneficial effects,
and the absence of any resulting evil, there is just as much justifica¬
tion for the habitual use of opium in moderation as for the moderate
use of alcohol, and indeed far more. He here forgets that instead
of opium having weaned the Chinese from one vice to enslave them to

116 tfe opium question.—a REVIEW. [March-

another, a double tyranny has been established, and yet drunken¬
ness as a vice has never been known in China.

The pleasure derived from an opium pipe is chiefly, according
to our author, from the opportunity it affords for abandoning ones-
aelf for a few moments (hours and even day9 ?) to idleness with the
pretence of occupation and passing smoke in and out of the mucous
passages. This then is certainly a sufficiently childish practice accord¬
ing to Sir George. What did the world do without all this pleasure
before the age of tobacco and opium habits of comparatively recent
growth ? The sucking of chandoo-smokeable extract of opium is
no more ethereal enjoyment than blowing soap bubbles. A whiff of
the opium pipe will settle this important point. Such a smoker will
rise from the couch with no sensation of pleasure but merely head¬
ache. Such is the conclusion reached in the first letter.

In the second letter, he inclines to place opium and alcohol in
the same category as dietetical corroborants, and “ because opium
is naturally adapted for the daily use of the Chinese, Englishmen
will trouble themselves as little about supplying them with opium
as about forcing the purchase of Manchester goods.” This is a new
phrase, about forcing the purchase of cotton goods. We have never
believed even in the forcing of the purchase of opium as if the sale
of opium resembled the operation of holding a child's nose in the
administration of some nauseous medicine. The Chinese are free to
buy and sell opium. It is only forced on the market, and its increased
taxation at the port of import refused by a foreign power, notwith¬
standing China's sovereign right. Sir George considers the whole
weight of trustworthy evidence, which probably is alone trust¬
worthy in such a matter, to be in favour of the use of a contro-
stimulant, as opium, by the inhabitants of tropical countries, more
particularly by those who live in malarious regions and feed chiefly
on a vegetable diet. Alas ! for our ancestors ! In a note he admits
that, the Bishop of Manchester rightly took him to task for not
quoting the report of the Commissioner in British Burmah, already
referred to, as to the evil effects of the use of opium on the Burmese,
and his only escape from the dilemma is by admitting the injury
caused, but that it is more expedient to leave the monopoly of the
opium trade of India in the hands of a beneficent (sic?) Government
which stops its sale, as in Burmah, whenever it is found to be doing
barm, rather than leave it, like alcohol at home, to almost unrestricted
enterprise. Evil or no evil the India revenue from opium must not
be touched. Whathas this beneficent Government done to stop the
opium trade with China, although the evils have been over and over
again pointed out and are patent and in fact a priori and from

THE OPIUM QUESTION.—A REVIEW.

117

April.]

analogy might be taken for granted. Sir George takes occasion to
twit the supporters of the anti-opium agitation in their advocacy of
the abolition of opium in India, while at home they advocate the
Gothenburg system in relation to the liquor traffic, which resembles
the Indian monopoly of opium. I presume the anti-opiumists or
at all events the United Kingdom Alliance would prefer the entire
abolition of drink to the Gothenburg system—but as this is at present
impossible, they are in favour of such restrictions as are feasible. It
is a mistake which is invariably made of supposing our home drink
question—*of which we reap the advantages in taxation and the dis¬
advantages in crime poverty and misery—and the opium question in
China, where India reaps all the advantage and poor China nearly
all the misery, to be identical.

Sir Geobge refers also to the question of opium shortening life
and quotes Sir R. Christian and Dr. Pereira as favourable to the
habitual use of opium-eating as producing no evil effects and as
shewing no tendency to shortening human life. This point was
fought years ago by an Insurance office over the death of the Earl
of Mar. Opium-eating and smoking are not inconsistent with a
measure of health and even long life; but such cases are the excep¬
tion. The practice enfeebles the physical powers and exposes to
attacks of certain diseases from which recovery is almost if not
entirely hopeless, as for example opium dysentery and diarrhoea.
The universal Chinese opinion is that it does shorten life and in their
illustrations of the opium debauchee, they paint a tiger turning
away in disgust from a repast on a smoker's body, thus shewing the
physical degeneration that takes place. Sir George again ref el’s
to the use of opium in the case of the Hindoos, who have,
for at least 1000 years, adopted an exclusively vegetable diet,
unsuited to the human constitution and consequently after
weaning, they suffer more or less from immoderate indigestion
excepting those of them who moderately indulge in the habitual
use of opium. The explanation given is that it delays the pro¬
gress of digestion and has in fact the effect of artificially prolong¬
ing the human intestine and thus promoting the more complete
digestion and assimilation of vegetable food. The supposition here
is that the human intestines are too short for a purely vegetable
diet. Man being by nature both carnivorous and graminivorous, his
intestines are of intermediate length between the extremes adapted
to an exclusively animal and an exclusively vegetable diet. This
explanation hardly tallies with what appears to be nature’s arrange¬
ment—a vegetable diet in the tropics, an animal diet in the Arctic
regions and a mixed diet in thp temperate zones. Moreover among

118 the opium question. — a review. [March-

the Chinese, at least, there are numerous other causes at work
promoting indigestion, which is the most common of all their
ailments, whether opium smokers or not. Chinese opium smokers
have hardly any appetite for food and only for dainty knick knacks
and at the oddest times. The habit returns in great force after eat¬
ing,- and this is the usual period when the desire is gratified. Warm
tea, betel nut, excessive use of tobacco, vegetable diet, the frequent
use of a coarse native spirit containing much fusel oil, the lym¬
phatic nature of the Chinese constitution, prevalence of parasites in
the intestines, the nature of their cooking, the food receiving neither
much nor minute mastication, these and other circumstances lie at
the bottom of their dyspeptic symptoms. It is not necessary to
have recourse to opium to restrain the peristaltic action of the bowels,
as constipation is their normal condition and this too is an important
factor in indigestion. Tea is said to have been taken by the
Buddhists from Assam, where it is native along with them religion,
to China. The tea plant is indigenous to China and grows wild on
the mountains of several of the provinces.

He again asserts, as he does so frequently, the immemorial use of
opium in the East and thinks possibly that it suggested to the
Buddhists their idea of nirvana. There is no connection between
the nirvana and opium. The former existed previous to the advent
of opium into India. Under the the influence of opium it may be
supposed to resemble nirvana. Consul Giles is quoted as referring
to the universal drinking habits of the Chinese before the introduc¬
tion of opium among them, notwithstanding the use of alcohol is
opposed to the cardinal precepts of Buddhism. Now here it is taken
for granted that the whole Chinese people are Buddhist, which is
very far from being the case, and with those who profess this form
of religion and even among the priests themselves Buddhism has
very little influence on their moral character. Moreover whatever
may have been the quantity of spirits drunk before the introduction
of opium, no small quantity is still consumed by this people among
whom opium is said to be universally used. And if the Chinese
have smoked for generations, when was it they were addicted to
drinking spirits, for the introduction of the latter does not go
further back than the 13th century when distillation first became
known and yet the time immemorial when opium was used must
surely have preceded this period. Mr. Giles could make no such
mistake. He doubtless, knows more about the time of the introduc¬
tion of opium into China than his quoter seems to do. Sir George says
Hr. Moore confirms his own statement of the Chinese having been

THE OPIUM QUESTION.—A REVIEW.

119

Apirh]

great drinkers of alcohol before they took to opium smoking. But
is Dr. Moore an authority on such a subject ?

Spirits are largely used by the opium smoker. Sometimes he
takes it as a substitute when he is obliged to give up or cannot get
the pipe; at other times he takes it to remove the disagreeable ness set
up by the astringency of the opium, and a certain painful tingling
sensation produced in the skin ; sometimes he takes it to remove the
depression produced after the first or stimulating effect of the
narcotic has passed ; sometimes his craving cannot be satisfied by
opium alone and he has recourse to the spirits; frequently he cannot
afford the time to wait for the ordinary effect of the opium and he
hastens its effect by drink; the opium astringes, the spirits disperse;
in this respect therefore they are antagonistic; sometimes it is taken
beforehand to enable the smoker to increase with impunity his
ordinary opium dose. A man who drinks requires a larger quantity
of opium to satisfy his habit. It is mixed with spirit when swallowed
by the suicide to hasteu solution, absorption and death. The great
body of the people all over the empire among the middle and lower
classes take samshoo, a coarse spirit distilled from millet and con¬
taining fusel oil, at their morning and evening meals, and the upper
classes drink freely of a hot fermented beer like very poor sherry.
The smoker who wishes to avoid excess in opium and to ward off
it bad effects will eschew drink, but the members of this class are
not very numerous. To Coleridge’s opium habit a frightful con¬
sumption of spirits was added, on his own testimony

We are told, what is certainly new to us, that Chinese converts
to Christianity suffer greatly from consumption and that they are
not allowed to marry young and therefore fall into those depraved,
filthy habits of which consumption is everywhere the inexorable wit¬
ness and scourge. In regard to opium being the sole alleviation of
spitting of blood, I do not differ widely from Sir George. I have
fouud opium stop haemoptysis and I have also found with the abandon¬
ment of the pipe, the return of the old affection. In bronchial and
thoracic diseases, the pyrolitic vapour of opium is certainly very
beneficial, besides other good therapeutic uses to which it can be put.

Sir George very rightly refers to the diminution of its narcotic
power by the various admixtures to which it is exposed in retailing
it (and he might have added also in its manufacture, for the Indian
Government seem to be great adulterators, presumably to suit the
Chinese palate) and in its preparation in the form of smokeable ex¬
tract. He finally enters into the question of the volatilization of
the active principles of opium, which is the pivot upon which turns
his assertion of its absolute harmlessness. We shall discuss this

120

THE POPOLLATION OP CHINA.

[March-

point in a separate paper. What lie says of the use of aphrodisiac
remedies in the East and the evils consequent upon them I can most
fully endorse. He -was charged with having a private purpose to
serve by the argument he has taken in this controversy but this he
fairly rebuts and therefore he deserves credit for his sincerity and
desire to arrive at the truth. His public retractation of that part,
at least, of his views depending upon his belief in the non-volatiliza-
bility of morphia, which is the foundation upon which he has based
his novel opinion of the innocuousness of the habit, does him credit.
He concludes his two letters where he began with an assertion of its
strictly harmless indulgence, the pleasure not being in the opium
itself, so much as in the smoking it. Anything else would gradually
become just as popular, although it might not incidentally prove so
beneficial. It was in this way he tells us “ that the Red Indians
took to smoking willow bark in place of tobacco which was too costly
for them. He has no hope of opium ever being relinquished by any
people who have once taken to it.” To put it down in China it may
be granted that forcible and energetic measures will require to be
adopted.

THE POPULATION OF CHINA.

By Rev. A. P. H-ippeh. D.D.

IN the number of the Chinese Recorder for September-October
A 1880 I published a short paper on the population of Chinese at
this present time. In that paper I expressed the opinion that the
population of this empire was not as great as it was commonly
stated to he, nor so great as it was fifty years ago. I stated that
in my opinion the present population could not be more than three
hundred millions; and gave as the reasons for that opinion, that the
destruction of life had been so great by the wars connected with the
T'ai-p'ing rebellion in fifteen of the provinces; by the Mohammedan
rebellions in the South West and North W r estern Provinces, and
the famines in the large and populous provinces of Shantung,
Shansi, Chihli, and Shensi and parts of the adjacent provinces that
after a careful consideration of the subject this was the largest
estimate that could he accepted for the present population. The
extra copies of that paper, which were printed in separate sheets
were soon exhausted, so that there were no copies to supply the
applications for it. Several European authorities have recently
corrected their estimates of the population of Chinese. Their pre¬
sent estimates will interest the readers of the Recorder who have

THE POPULATION OP CHINA.

121

April]

not yet seen them. Drs. Behm and Wagner in the recent edition of
their 'well known collection of statistics, “Die Bevolkernng
der Erie” give the population of China including Corea as 379,
500,000, which number is 55,000,000 less than they formerly gave
as the population. Petersen’s Meittkeolungen, which is published
biennially, has reduced the estimate of the population of China
proper from 425 millions to 350 millions, a lessening of 75 millions.
It gives the reasons for this reduction in some five pages. It
estimates the population of the outlying territories at 21 millions
which makes the population of the empire to be 371 millions.
These numbers I think can very safely be reduced some 50 millions
more and get give the whole number of present population. As
helping to confirm my own estimate I have pleasure in republish¬
ing a statement of Mr. H. A. Hippisley, Acting Commissioner of
Customs. To his Report of the port of Weuchow in Cheh-kiaug
Province Mr. Hippisley appends some remarks on the population of
China. It will be noticed by those who will compare these state¬
ments with those made by me in the paper published in September
1880—that Mr. Hippisley gives the very same reasons for the
diminution of the population that I have given. But he estimates
the destruction of life by the rebellions and famines to have been
greater than I estimated it. The report of the results of a census
of the Cheh-kiang Province in 1879 appears to bear out the estimate
of Mr. Hippisley. But it appears to me that this reported census
gives just grounds for regarding its results as unreliable. It was
taken in 1879, fifteen years after peace and quiet had been restored
in the province. Of course during this time all the inhabitants
that Had been scattered into the adjoining provinces by the incursion
of the insurgents had returned to their former homes, some settlers
had come in from adjoining provinces to occupy the vacant lands,
and with the return of quiet and order the natural increase of
population would be noticed in that time. If then at the end of
fifteen years there was Btill a decrease of the population from what
it was previously, to the extent of 60 per cent, as stated in this
census, what must it have been when the insurgents withdrew
from that Province ?

Prom the sources which I have indicated there must have been
a large accession to the population in fifteen years of peace and
prosperity. It is quite incredible that the population should have
diminished so much that after such an increase there was still only
40 per cent of the former population. Besides in 1879 it was
reported from the same Provincial authorities that taxes were paid

122 the population op china. [March-

on 7/10 of the former quantity of titled lands. The two statements
do not appear congruous. For it is not probable that 4/10 of the
same population would pay taxes on 7/10 of the same quantity of
land. The quantity of land paying taxes would be easier to get at
than the population. I consider Mr. Hippisley's estimate of the
population of Cheh-kiang province a more probable estimate than the
number given by the reported census. It will be noticed that as Mr.
Hippisley estimates the whole population of China at 250 million
while the two German authorities both place it above 359 millionSj
there is a difference of more than 100 millions in their estimates.
It shows at once that the data which we have for arriving at a
knowledge of the population of China are very unreliable, when
such a wide discrepancy exists in the results arrived at. It- also
appears that the estimate of 300 millions, which I have given as the
most probable is about half way between, the others. I am sure
that the data which I presented in my former paper on this subject,
would justify placing the number of the population of China rather
below than above 300 millions. I am therefore more inclined to
.agree with Mr. Hippisley rather than with the German statisticians.
I think that perhaps the number 280 millions would more nearly
express the number of the population than any number which lias
hitherto been published. For in forming the estimate of the number
of people which had perished in the various rebellions and famines,

I accepted the lowest estimate tliat could be accepted in consistency
with the facts then presented. The number which perished in these
several calamitous visitations might very easily be counted as 20
millions more than I estimated it to be, and that would have made
the population to be 280 millions. But I must present my readers
with the statements of Mr. Hippisley. He writes thus; Mr. Rhys
Davids, in his work on “Buddhism,” states on the authority of
Schopenhauer (“ParergaetParalipomena”) that, “according to the
Moniteur dc la Flotte, May, 1857, the allied armies found, on taking
Nanking, 1842, returns which gave the population of China at
396,000,000, and that the Post Zcitung of 1858 contains a report
from the Russian Mission at Peking giving the numbers, on authority
of state papers, at 414,687,000.” I have not seen Schopenhauer's
work and know not, therefore, whether detailed statistics for each
province are given in these returns. The latest census of which I
am aware containing this information is that of 1812, which gives
the population as 362,447,183 souls. Theareas of the several provinces
are given by Dr. Williams in his “ Middle Kingdom,” but there is
reason to think his estimate is, in some cases at least, an excessive

THE POPULATION OP CHINA.

123

April.]

one, for Baron von Richthofen computes the area of the Cheh-kiang
province at 36,000 square miles, while Dr. Williams gives it as
39,150 square miles. Accepting, however, Dr. Williams's statement,
the population returned in the census of 1812 for the provinces of
Kiang-su, Gan-hwuy, and Cheh-kiang would give an average to the
square mile in them of 850,705 and 671 respectively. In Belgium,
the most densely-populated country in Europe, the present average
is 469; and in Oudh, the most densely-populated portion of India,
the average is, according to the census of 1881, but 476. It seems
almost incredible that any portion of China could at any time have
possessed a population 50 to 75 per cent denser than these countries.
But, however that may be, I have long been of opinion that the
present population of China falls far short of the number given by
the census of 1812. In the Taip'ing rebellion, which was charac¬
terised by ruthless destruction and slaughter, sixteen provinces were
desolated. It was followed by the Nienfei and Mussulman rebellions,
and by the terrible famine of 1876-78. In these successive calami¬
ties vast tracts of country were depopulated, and as is evidenced by
the memorials regarding the grain tribute published in the Peking
Gazette, no small portion of them remains to this day unreclaimed.
For these reasons I have considered that the population of China
at the present day does not exceed 250,000,000. This estimate
has, I am aware, been generally considered too small. It was,
therefore with no slight interest that I read in the Peking Gazette of
the 17th March, 1880, a postscript memorial from the Governor
of this province reporting the result of a general census held in
the autumn of the fifth year of the present reign (1879). The
population of Cheh-kiang, which I had estimated as slightly over
15,000,000, is given according to this census as 11,541,054. This
census of 1812 having stated the then population as 26,256,784,
the present returns show a reduction of 14,700,000 souls, or nearly
60 per cent, and an average to the square mile of 295, instead
of 671.

Through the courtesy of the Taotai, I am able to give parti¬
culars of the population of this prefecture. The returns forwarded
from Ping-yang Hsien are less detailed than those from some of the
other districts, and those from Tai-shun Hsien give only the number
of habitations, omitting the number of inhabitants. But to have
obtained further particulars might have delayed the despatch of this
report beyond the date fixed by you, and I have calculated the
population of the last-named district by estimating five persons to
each habitation, a number slightly below the average of the other

124

THE POPULATION OP CHINA.

[March-

districts. The area of this prefecture is about 3,380 geographical
square miles, or 4,500 statute square miles. The average population
would therefore seem, to he about 409 to the square mile in this
prefecture, and thus largely in excess of the general average of the
province. The adjoining prefecture of Clriu-chau, to the west, is,
however, nearly twice as large as this prefecture, with a population
of probably scarcely more than half the above number. The average
of the two prefectures would thus be considerably below that of the
whole province .—The Shanghai Courier.

As the extra copies of my former paper on this subject were
long ago exhausted and none are on hand to meet the application for
copies, in order to give completeness to this paper I reprint a few
pages of that article in this connection for the facts referred to
therein.

“ We are glad to put this opinion of Dr. Williams’ on record on
our pages, for we agree in opinion of the reliability of the census of
1812 j and consider the statement that the population of China in
1812 was 363,000,000 quite credible. But we think that Dr.
Williams has underestimated the destruction which has happened to
the population, during the last forty years, from wars, famines and
pestilences, when he expresses the opinion that the population is
still 340,000,000.

We will proceed to examine those sad items in the history of this
country in order to arrive at some opinion as to the diminution of the
population. Dr. Williams estimates the loss of life during the
Taiping rebellion at twenty millions . This is a very great number of
human lives to be lost in a rebellion. But great as the nnmber is in
itself, we think the number is too few by one half; and that the loss
of life during these eighteen years of war was at least forty millions.
Dr. Williams notices the fact that fifteen out of the eighteen provinces
had been reached by the insurgents and were more or less ravaged
by them. All who know the history of that rebellion, at the time, will
remember the terrible slaughter inflicted on the cities and populous
towns of Wuchang, Hanyang, Hankow, Kiukiang, Wuliu and Ngan-
king, on their way down the Yangtsze river till they took Nanking;
also the destructive and bloody raids, which they made frequently
into the provinces of Honan, Shantung, Chihli, Shansi, Shensi and
Szecliuen. But their most terrible visitations were in Kwangsi, where
it originated and where for four years it gathered and organized its
forces at the expenso of the lives and property of many of the in¬
habitants of that province ; and in the four provinces of Kiangsu,
Chehkiang, Kiangsi and Nganhwui. These four provinces are all in

THE POPULATION OF CHINA.

125

April.]

the vicinity of Nanking which the insurgents made their head-quar¬
ters for some eleven years ; and these rich and populous provinces were
the forage ground from which nearly all their supplies of men, and
means, and food were gathered. These provinces have all been visited
and travelled over in various directions by missionaries and others
since quiet was restored. And though we have not any reliable
census to show with certainty the full loss of population during the
eleven years of merciless execution and murder, yet, we have various
facts which will enable us to form some approximate-estimate there¬
of. Some of those who travelled over Chehkiang province, soon
after it was recovered by the Imperial government, estimated the
loss of population at one-half. After these sixteen years of quiet and
the resumption of peaceful pursuits, in the begining of this year one
of the provincial officers of the province stated that 3/10 of the arable
land still paid no taxes. Every one who has passed along the canal
from Hangchow to Soochow and theuce either to Chinkiang, or
Nanking, has noticed the large districts, of very good land that is
still uncultivated. It is noticeable iu the large cities and towns and
villages within this same region, how much of these places remain
unbuilt. Those who have frequently travelled through Nganhwui,
both north and south of the river, have written of the extensive
desolation that prevails—whole cities yet in ruins—and towns and
villages depopulated, and whole districts uncultivated. Some have
estimated that one half the population in Nganhwui had perished.
This opinion was further supported by the fact that many of the
present inhabitants have come in from the adjacent pi’ovinces since
quiet was restored. Less has been written of the condition of
Kiangsi since the restoration of order than of the other provinces
adjoining Nanking. But as it was equally open to the marauding
excursions of the insurgents, we may suppose that it suffered nearly
to the same degree. Those who have, within the last few years,
passed through Kwangsi state that large txacts of the country are
still desolate, and that cities and towns are still in ruins. During a
part of the time the insurgent chief was in Kwangsi it was a war of
extermination. If the chief had been taken he and his followers
would have been massacred, hence the war was very destructive of
life. The aggregate population of these five povinces, before the
outbreak of the insurrection, according to the census of 1812, as
given by Dr. Williams in “ The Middle Kingdom/ 5 was 128,629,276.
If we estimate the loss of life in these five provinces, during this long
continuous butchery of the peaceful inhabitants by the insurgents, at
4/10 of the population it will make the number thus perishing to

126

THE POPULATION OP CHINA.

[March-

have been 51,451,080. If we fix on 3/10 as the probable proportion
that perished, (and no one who will consider all the facts in the
case will consider 3/10 as a high estimate of those who perished)
it will make the numbers to have been 38,588,771. If to this last
number, we add the lowest possible estimate for the numbers
that perished in the other fifteen provinces, that suffered from
the incursions of the insurgent forces, it will make the numbers
that were destroyed by the Tai-phng rebellion to have been over
40,000,000.

But besides this rebellion which caused the destruction of popu¬
lation, there have been other causes, within the last thirty years, that
Dr. Williams does not refer to. The most destructive have been the
Mohammedan rebellions in the South-west and North-west and the
recent famine in the North-east. Those travellers who have passed
through the provinces of Yunnan and Kwei-cliow within the last
few years all write of the depopulated state of the country. A gen¬
tleman, who is in the employ of the Chinese Government and who
has resided in Kwei-chow province for several years, said to the writer,
in answer to inquiries on this point, that in some places 4/10 of the
population had disappeared, in some places 6/10 were gone. The
statements made by other writers as to the exterminating character
of the war to subdue of this Mohammedan rebellion would lead us to
expect to hear of such distinction of the population. The French
Consul-General M. Theirsant, in his book in " Le Mahometisme en
Chine” as quoted in the Edinburgh Review, for April 1880, says "The
most deplorable conflict between the Muslims and their neighbors
in Yunnan was that which begun in a quarrel between some miners
in 1855, and only ended in 1874, in well-nigh the extermination of
the Muslim population of the province.” The same article at p.
374, quotes another writer, describing tbe terrible nature of the war
as stating, "that Seventy-seven towns were taken by assault,
and forty of them absolutely destroyed, whilst the villages and
hamlets burnt and pillaged defy calculation.” We have no detailed
statements as to the extent of the depopulation of the country in
Kansuh province, by European travellers. But the population of
these three provinces, before the rebellions in them, according to
the census of 1812, aggregated 25,932,644. The war in Yunnan
continued nineteen years, in Kansuh for a shorter period. It will
be a low estimate to suppose that 8,000,000 of the population
perished during these destructive war, in those three provinces of
the empire.

PH 2 POPULATION OP CHINA.

127

April-]

The other terrible calamity, which has in recent years come
upon China, attended with great distraction of life, is the recent
famine in the five adjacent provinces of Child i, Shantung, Shansi,
Shensi and Honan. The aggregate population of these five provinces
according to the census of 1812 was 104,803416. The famine did
not extend over all the provinces, but from the statements of those
who engaged in the relief work the calamity must have involved
nearly one-half of the whole population. The Committee at Shanghai
gave as an estimate, that the loss of life from famine and the attend¬
ing diseases was 13,000,000. This is probably an under-estimate.
It has been stated that the Chinese officers reported the loss of
population as 20,000,000. But taking the estimates, as given above,
of the loss of population by those appalling calamities; viz: the
Taiping rebellion at 40,000,000; in the three provinces of the
S.W. and N.W. at 8,000,000; and by the famine in the five N.E.
provinces at 13,000,000 and it makes an aggregate number of
61,000,000.

Besides these great calamities resulting in such a fearful loss of
life, there have been other causes which lessen, the general tendency
to the recuperation of the population. Some of these are as follow :—
The continued stream of emigration of young and able-bodied men
to all the countries of the Eastern archipelage, to Siam, to Australia
and to the United States of America. There have been some limited
regions of China that have suffered from floods and the dear prices
for food. The first war with England from 1839-42 was attended
with very considerable loss of life, at some points; and the local
rebellions which occuried in the Canton and Fukien provinces, in
1854-5, soon after the fall of Nanking, were only suppressed after a
considerable loss of life. All will recall the number of executions
at Canton city by the then Governor-General Yeh. But the most
wide spread cause, which has prevented recuperation of the number
of the population, is the use of opium by such a large number
of the adult males. The habitual use of opium, as is known to
all, has spread rapidly among the middle classes during the last
forty years.

After considering these causes which affect the population of
China, we think that most of our readers will agree with us in the
opinion, that taking the census of 1812 as a ground of estimate,
300,000,000 is a probable estimate for the present population of the
empire of China, If we accept the number which is given by Dr.
Peterson’s Mitthellunger as the probable population of the globe,

128 the population op china. [March-

viz: 1,429,145,000 to be correct, then China contains a little more
than one fifth of the population of the globe.”

It will be evident to all my readers when they examine the
details of the sad calamities affecting the population of China that
if we increase the estimated number of those who perished during
the T’ai-p’ing rebellion by 10 millions, making the estimated num¬
ber to be 50 millions instead of 40 millions it will be fully justified
by the facts presented. So if we add 6 millions to the number as
formerly given of those who perished in the Mohammedan rebellions
in the South West andNorth West provinces, and again add 4 millions
to the number formerly given as the number perishing through the
famines in the populous provinces of Chihli, Shantung, Shansi,
Shensi and Honan the estimates as thu9 increased will be sustained
by the facts above presented. These several items make an aggre¬
gate of 20 millions. In my former paper as will be seen from the
quotation above given I presented 61 millions as the lowest
estimate of the numbers of lives that were destroyed and that this
number substracted from the number given in the census of 1812
made the present population to be in round numbers 300 millions.
If now we estimate the loss of life by these various calamities to have
been 20 millions more thau the estimate then given, it will make
the number to have been 81 millions. This number taken from the
number as given in the census of 1812 will leave the population
at 280,000,000. If any are inclined to accept Mr. Hippisle/s
estimate of 250 millions I consider it to be much better supported
than the higher estimate of 350 millions. I present the facts and
leave my readers to form their own opinion. It is worth noticing
in this connection that the recent census in India gives the popula¬
tion of that populous country to be 250 millions. The population
of India is therefore very nearly equal to that of China—according
to these latter estimates—But if the rapid increase of the growth
and consumption of opium in China cannot be arrested, there is
reason to believe that the population of India, under the beneficent
rule of the British govenment will soon exceed that of China and
China will then cease to be, what it has so long been, the most
populous country on the globe.

April.]

NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF SUCHOW.

129

NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF SUCHOW.

By Ret. A. P. Parker.

V.

THE KINGDOM OF WU ^ j§9

rpHE "Kingdom of Wu" was the name of the state of which
- 1 Suchow was the capital, when the city was founded. It
embraced all of that part of the present province of Kiangsu, south
of the Yang Tz river, and a part of Chehkiang and Anhwei pro¬
vinces. And while it has not for many centuries been an indepen¬
dent state, the name Wu still clings to the country, and Suchow and
the region around is quite commonly called "the Country of Wu,”
[& & or &]. Its history embraces the period from about b.c. 1260
to 476. But little, however, of importance is recorded of its history
during the greater part of these 800 years. From the time of Yii
th8 Great to b.c. 1260, the country of Wu was iucluded in the dis¬
trict of Yangchow, and was inhabited by barbarians. These bar¬
barians were wholly uncivilised—living on the natural products of
the land, tattooing their bodies, and knowing nothing of letters.
Where they originally came from there are no means of knowing.

The kingdom of Wu was founded by the descendants of Tan
Fu the progentor of Wu Wang 3E the founder of the

Cheu dynasty. Tan Fu had three sons, the youngest of whom Ki
Lih was regarded by his father as the most worthy to be

made his successor to the government of the principality of Cheu.

The two oldest sons, T'ai Peh and Ch'ung Yung, on learning
their father's purpose concerning the succession, determined to avoid
any possibility of trouble, by leaving the country so as to allow the
youngest brother to succeed to the dominion without opposition.
Hence, on one occasion, when the " Old Duke ” (■£ fa) was sick and
the two brothers went to the hills to hunt some medicinal herbs
for their father, they availed themselves of the opportunity to steal
away unawares, and taking their journey to the southward, they
travelled a distance of several hundred li to a region south of the
Yang Tz river, called King Man jfi] and there settled, somewhere
in the region of the present city of Chang Cheu.

The influence of their example on the natives seems to have
been very salutary. In a few years many of them learned of the
two brothers some of the arts of civilized life,—agriculture, house¬
building, making clothes, &c. &c.—and subsequently the inhabitants
of quite a large region of country, including more than 1000 families,
agreed to make T'ai Peh their ruler, and the kingdom or principality
thus founded was called Keu Wu 'pj a name which was probably

130 NOTES ON THU HISTORY OF SUCHOW. [March-

derived from sounds in the aboriginal tongue. T'ai Peh made his
capital at a place called Mei Li $5 jf[, which, though it was never a
walled city, was strongly fortified. The ruins of this fortification
were still to be seen, it is said, at the time the History was written,
60 years ago. T'ai Peh ruled with such justice and probity that his
sway over his adopted country soon became firmly established.

When Tan Fu came to die, he expressed, a wish that T'ai Peh
might still become his successor, notwithstanding his former purpose
to leave the kingdom to Ki Lih. He had long mourned over the
loss of his two sons, and promised the kingdom to T'ai Peh if he
would return to his father’s house. Accordingly when T'ai Peh
learned of his father’s death, and returned home to assist in the
performance of the funeral rites, Ki Lih offered him the kingdom,
hut he would not accept it. The offer was twice repeated, and as
often rejected. Hence it is said that “ T'ai Peh thrice declined the
kingdom” ^ & % T H & His magnanimity in thus relin¬

quishing his rights in favor of his youngest brother, is regarded by
the Chinese as worthy of very high praise.

He ruled the kingdom of Wu some 49 years and at his death
was succeeded by his brother Ch’ung Yung. The son of the latter
succeeded him at his death. Thus the government was handed down
from father to son for 19 successive generations till it reached Sheu
Mung || §|. He had four sons, of whom he regarded the youngest,
Ki Cliali, sp &s the best qualified to succeed to the rule of the
state. But Ki Chah refused to acquiesce in his father’s plans, and
the succession therefore devolved on the oldest son, who, on his
death, was succeeded by the second son. He ruled only a short
time, and dying, was succeeded by the third son. Strange to say the
third son only lived a few years after his accession to the kingdom,
and on his death, it was the general desire that Ki Chah should
succeed him. Ki Chah had by this time reached a good old age
having outlived his three elder brothers, and by his faithfulness in
the official positions that he had held during the three successive
reigns, had confirmed the good judgment of his father as to his
fitness to rule the kingdom. But he cared not for kingly power and
glory, and to avoid further importunity, he left the court and,
retiring to a secluded spot, spent his time in the quiet of agricul¬
tural pursuits. On this account he has a place in the History
among the noted sages, that the country of Wu has produced.

On Ki Chah’s positive refusal to be king, Wang Liao, j£ the
son of Yu Chai, fg, Sheu Mung^s third son wasm ade king, about
b.c. .585. Up to this date very little is recorded of the progress of

N0TE8 ON THE HISTORY OP 8UCHOW.

m

April.]

the country of Wu in the arts of civilized life. T'ai Peh seems to
have built up a considerable town called Mei Li, and to have for¬
tified it with a mud wall. Sheu Hung is also said to have founded
the city of Kw&n-shan || jjj, although there was no brick wall
built around it till the time of the Sung dynasty. There is no record
of the productions and manufactures of the country, nor of the
number of its inhabitants. The absence of such records is attributed
to the "Burning of the Books” by T'sin Sz Hwang Ti, the first
emperor of the T'sin, by whose order all the books in tbe empire of
every description were destroyed. Only the "Book of Changes”
was spared and a few other books including some of the Classics were
successfully hidden and escaped destruction. This calamity fell upon
the literature of the country a.d. 212. Hence it is said that the
records of the Kingdom of Wu were destroyed at that time, and
its early history is therefore enveloped in some obscurity.

To return from this digression. Wang Liao had a dangerous
and resolute rival in the person of Kung Tz Kwang, Q ^
his cousin. This cousin was the son of Sheu Hung's first eon, Chu
Fan, ^ and considered that as his uncle Ki Chah had refused
the throne, the succession rightly belonged to him as the eldest son.
Hence, when Wang Liao was made king, Kung Tz Kwang resolved
on his destruction. He was enabled to accomplish his purpose
thirteen years after Wang Liao’s accession, by the assistance of Wu
Tz-sii, (ii«, son of Wu Shieh, Prime minister of the state

of T'su. Wu Shieh together with his elder son Wu Shang, {ft
were put to death at the instigation of a rival statesman, and Tz-su,
took to flight to save his life. The eldest son of the king of T'su
also fled with him, and the two found refuge at the court of Chen
Subsequently the son of the king of T'su was found engaged in a
plot to seize the government of Ch'en, and had to flee again for his
life. Tz-sii, though having no part in this plot, was suspected by
the king of Ch'en, and bad to flee also. This time he came to the
court of Wu and offered his services to Wang Liao. The latter was
at first inclined to accept him, but was dissuaded from doing so by
Kung Tz Kwang, who represented to him that as Tz-sii had been
twice accused of treachery and had fled for his life, he could not be
a trustworthy servant of the king of Wu. Kung Tz Hwang’s real
purpose was to secure the services of Wu Tz-sii for himself. He saw
in Tz-sii a man of unusual ability, and he determined, if possible, to
secure his assistance in carrying out his plan of wresting the throne
from Wang Liao. Wang Liao listened to the advice of his treach¬
erous cousin, and thus unwittingly hastened his own downfall.

132 notes on the history op socHow. [March-

On Liao’s refusal to employ Tz-sii, the latter was secretly taken into
the service of Kung Tz Kwang who, by reason-of his near relation¬
ship to the king, occupied a commanding position at the court of
Wu. In order to cover up his schemes, Kung Tz Kwang caused Tz-
sii to retire from the court to some secluded place where he could
better assist in perfecting a plan to put down Wang Liao and
secure the throne to Kung Tz Kwang. Tz-sii was not long in
devising a plan and securing a man to execute it. Wang Liao
was very fond of broiled fish, and Wu Tz-sii’s plan was to take
advantage of this fact to compass his destruction. In his rambles
through the country he found a man of great strength and courage
named Chan Chu §§, whom he took into his employ, and sent
him to the shores of the G-reat Lake to study the art of broiling fish
according to Wang Liao’s favorite method. After three year’s
practice he was introduced to Wang Liao and employed by him,
and the latter soon became so pleased with him that he would eat
no fish except such as had been prepared by Chan Chu.

Having succeeded so far in his plot, Kung Tz Kwang deter¬
mined to bring matters to a crisis. He accordingly invited Wang
Liao to a feast, the principal article of which was to be broiled fish
prepared by Chan Chu. Liao came to the house of Kung Tz Kwang
on the day appointed, well protected by his own trusty body-guard,
having had his suspicions aroused as to the sincerity of his cousin
in inviting him to this feast. Meantime Kung Tz Kwang had
placed a company of his minions in ambush in an adjoining room,
and ordered Chan Chu to hide a short sword of a peculiar make in
one of the broiled fish that he was to bring in for the king’s feast.
On ariving, Liao took hi3 place at the feast, with his body-guard
drawn np in order on either side. Chan Chu, while in the act of
setting the dish of broiled fish before the king, opened it and seiz¬
ing the knife concealed therein, stabbed the king. Wang Liao’s
body-guard immediately fell upon Chan Chu and struok him down.
But rising with one tremendous effort, he again struck his sword
into the body of Wang Liao who immediately fell dead. Liao’s
soldiers made short work with Chan Clin, but they were soon over¬
powered and nearly all massacred by Kung Tz Kwang’s followers
who had been placed in ambush for the occasion.

On the death of Wang Liao, Kung Tz Kwang proclaimed
himself king of Wu with the title of Hoh Lii {^j gj. This is the
famouB Hoh Lii that founded the city of Suchow.

(To be continued’)

April.]

WHAT SHALL BE DONE WITH CONTESTS, ETC.

133

WHAT SHALL BE DONE WITH CONVERTS WHO HAVE
MORE THAN ONE WEFE?

TT is a long time since any tiling has appeared in the Chinese Recorder
* in regard to what shall be done with those in China who happen
to have two or more wives, where they give evidence of having been
converted by the Spirit of God and apply to be received into the
Christian Church. I fancy that the number of such applicants will
he more numerous each successive year. A greater number has come
under my own observation the last year than any previous one.
The practice of different missionaries in regard to them is still
different. While some receive them allowing them to continue in the
relation which had been formed before hearing the gospel, others
require them to put away all but one before admitting them into
the church. One who pursues the latter plan has given a statement
of his experience which is well worth putting on record. I have met
with it as referred to in an American newspaper. I send' it to the
Recorder for republication with some remarks on the subject.

"Among the difficult questions which missionaries in pagan
lands are compelled to consider, none is more perplexing than that
of polyagmy. The rule of most Societies is that a man, before he
can be admitted to membership, must put away all his wives but
one; and such evils are involved in this act, that often natives of
strong moral feelings will revolt from it. Dr. Ashmore of the Swa-
tow (China) Baptist mission is fortunate in that only one such case
has fallen to his lot in his long missionary service; but it is a very
striking one, as he tells it in The Baptist Missionary Magazine. A
applicant had two wives, and was told that he must put one of them
away. Which one ? The one he married last. But the first wife
had no children, while the second had several. Was the mother to
he separated from her children ? Hear what the discarded wife said
to the missionary: —

"But, teacher, he is my husband, and I am his wife. You say
that he ought not to have taken me; hut he did take me before he
knew your new religion. He is the father of my children. I have
a right to look to him for companionship and for protection. You
make my children illegitimate. You should not do that; you have
no right to injure my children that way. You have no right to put
me in the position of a disreputable woman, for he lawfully married
me according to the usage of China. I had a husband; now I have
np husband, I had a home, now I have no home. If I go and

134 WHAT SHALL BE DONS WITH CONVERTS [March -

marry another man, I shall break the law. I had one to whom I
could go as the father of my children; now I can go to my children’s
father no longer, nor may I dare to speak to him.”

“ We do not wonder that this made Dr. Ashmore feel like
studying anew the New Testament teaching on the subject. When
a man marries a second wife after he becomes a church member, the
course of the missionary is plain. But where Christianity finds a
man living according to the custom of the country and the sanction
of its laws, with two or more wives, cannot he be accepted under
protest rather than do irremediable injustice and injury to
the innocent?”

This is the mo9t heart-rending appeal I ever read. It is very
similar to one published some time ago from a woman in South
Africa who had suffered from the same experience, but much more
affecting. I hope Dr. Ashmore’s studying anew the New Testament
teaching on the subject, may lead to the adoption of a different
course. Under similar circumstances I am free to say that after a
long study of the Bubject and the reading of every thing I could find
in relation to this perplexing subject I would not have inflicted such
a trial upon that poor woman as to deprive her of her husband, her
home and her children in the name of the merciful Kedeemer whose
gospel is best portrayed by his own words “ come unto me all ye
that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”

It is known to all who have studied the subject that we have
no explicit teaching in the S.S. either from our Lord or his Apostles,
in regard to this point. So we have to be guided in regard thereto
by general considerations and by inferences. Some persons who
are not much acquainted with the history of missions suppose that
it is not a matter that needs much consideration to decide. They
have all their lives been accustomed to consider polygamy as a great
sin. No one who has more than one wife can possibly be the
member of a cburcb in Christian lands. Any one found guilty of
bigamy there is condemned to the penitentiary as a felon. The
polygamy of the Mormons has justly been held up as the monster
evil of their wicked system. The natural feeling, therefore, of
many by reason of these influences is, can any person think of
receiving one in a heathen land who has more than one wife
to the church with out requiring him to put these wives away ?
These persons forget the common adage, that “ circumstances
alter cases.” Let us consider for a moment that Abraham was
in the very same circumstances as this man was of whom Dr.
Ashmore writes. Abraham, having no child, took Hagar to be bis
concubine at the wish of his wife- Sarah, as this man did at the

WHO HAVE MORE THAN ONE WIFE.

135

April-]

prompting, very probably, of his wife who had no child. Who was
Abraham ? Is he not the Father of the faithful, the man whom God
had selected to be the commencement of his chosen seed ? Though
polygamy is now forbidden both by the law of the Church and of
the State in Christian lands, it was not forbidden by the law of
God as given by Moses, nor by human laws among Eastern nations.
TJp to the time of Christ it was tolerated by the law of God among
the Jews; and much more was it tolerated among the Gentiles. It
was not therefore sinful in itself in Abraham to have a concubine.
For that which is tolerated of God is not sinful in his sight. As
polygamy thus existed in the time of Abraham, we suppose that
it also existed among other Eastern people; and that it existed
among them, as it did with Abraham, by the toleration of God.
Hence the present practise of polygamy among the eastern nations
nations has come down from the days of Abraham. The monogamy
which now prevails in Christian lands comes from the teachings of
our Lord. All those who know his teachings aro under the highest
obligation to follow them, and to obey the laws of the land in which
they live. But this man, of whom Dr. Ashmore writes, when he
took the second wife was living under the law as made known at the
time of Abraham and which had come down in China by tradition
to this time. As he had not heard of the law of marriage as given
by our Lord, for it had not yet been made known to him, he violated
no kuown law when he took the concubine, any more than Abraham
did when he took Hagar. “ For where there is no law there is no
transgressionHow did God do with Abraham when he took
Hagar to be his concubine at the request of Sarah ? Did he refuse
to number him among his chosen people ? No, not at all. He allowed
him to suffer the natural evils which follow such marriages; but
Abraham and the son of that concubine received the rite of circum¬
cision on the same day, which was the seal of the covenant with
God’s chosen people. Abraham was not required by God to send away
Hagar, and when she fled from what she regarded the harsh rule
of Sarah, God sent her back to her mistress and also to her master.
There was her home. There was the father of her child and there
6he was in duty bound to stay. By many, Christian baptism is con¬
sidered to have come in the Christian church in the place of circumci¬
sion under the Old Testament. It would appear, then, to require
a very clear and explicit command on the subject to justify any
missionary saying to a man, who is in the very same circumstances
that Abraham was in when he had Hagar as his concubine; who
gives evidence of having received the renewing of the Holy Ghost
and who applies to be received into the number of the chosen

136 what shall B2 done with converts [March-

people ; you must send away the mother of your children; you must
turn her out of her home; you must make her children illegitimate ;
you must make the woman who has been your wife a disreputable
woman before I can baptize you. I unhesitatingly say our Lord
has given no command that requires a missionary to say thus to a
man in these circumstances. Is not the fact that the Holy Spirit
has converted him the evidence that he is one of God’s chosen ones ?
And can it be that one who is accepted of God, can not he received
into His visible church ?

But it i3 answered that Christ, by the law of marriage which
declares it to be between one man and one woman, forbids a man
having more wives than one. We admit it; but the rule does not
apply to these cases. If any one who has known the law violates it
and takes a second wife while the first is still living, though it may
be still the usage of the people around him, we cut him off from
the church. But when one who was living under the law as it
existed at the time of Abraham and as it was tolerated by God in
the Jewish church, and who had, in accordance with that toleration,
married a second wife, and has lived with her and has children, and
then comes to the knowledge of the Gospel and accepts Jesus as
his Saviour, I hold that he may be received into the church as he
was when the Gospel came him, with out putting away his wives, he
promising obedience to the law of Christ and that he will not marry
any other woman till all that he now may have shall he separated
from him by death.

While it is true that there is no passage in the New Testament
that gives explicit instruction on this point, yet there are some
passages that help us to see what is right—and proper to be done
in relation to it. The Apostle Paul gives it as the law of the king¬
dom that "marriage is honorable in all” and that all Christians,
whether men or women, may marry if they wish to —“but only in the
Lord.” Does this law of the kingdom render void the marriage
relation which has already been contracted with unbelievers, when
one of the parties becomes a Christian ? By no means. The Apostle
says expressly "If any brother hath a wife that believeth not,
and sbe be pleased to dwell with him let him not put her away. And
the woman which hath a husband that believeth not, and if he he
pleased to dwell with her let her not leave him.” I Cor. vii : 12, 13.
Here Is Apostolic direction in a case where conversion to Christ
brings the member into contrariety with the law of the kingdom of
Christ. There are two laws in regard to marriage, one is that a
church member may " only marry in the Lord.” The other is that
marriage is only between one man and one woman.- In the one case

April.] WHO HAVE MORE THAN ONE WIFE. 137

the Apostle teaches us that where a man or woman, who is already
married according to the usage of the country in which he lives, is
converted and becomes a Christian and his companion remains
unconverted—the law which requires a Christian “ only to marry in
the Lord” does not set aside that marriage contracted before he was
converted j he is not required to put her away. I have shown
above that in these Eastern lands, where polygamy has existed from
the earliest ages, in accordance with the usage which prevailed at
the time of Abraham and with the toleration given to it by God
among the Jews, the taking of a concubine is not a violation of the
law which our Lord has established for his church. Is it not a fair
and legitimate induction that, if the law of the kingdom requiring a
Christian “ to marry only in the Lord” does not require a converted
man to send away the wife that believes not, neither does our Lord’s,
Law of marriage as existing “ between one man and one woman”
require a man, who, in the days of his heathenism had married a
concubine, to put her away before he can be received into the
Christian church and be baptized ? But there are two passages in the
New Testament which I think make known to us what was the
usage of the Apostles in this matter. One is the passage in I Tim.
hi : 2 in which Paul gives his directions for the choice of ministers
for ordination. “ A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one
wife,” and again v. 12 “ Let the deacons be the husbands of one
wife.” The most obvious meaning of these passages is this—that
persons with more than one wife might he admitted to the member¬
ship, of the church, but they could not be set apart as officers in the
church. On this interpretation of the passages there is, of course, the
Apostles example in the matter, and that should settle the question.
But all who have studied the question know that these passages
have three explanations. One of these is advocated principally by
the Roman Catholic commentators, which is that a Bishop or
Deacon should only he married once; that if his wife dies he may
not marry a second time. The Roman church has narrowed this
supposed direction of St. Paul to mean that the clergy should not
marry at all. The rule that if the wife of a Bishop or Deacon die he
may not marry again is so contrary to all the teaching of the Apostle
in regard to marriage that it is accepted only by a few Protestant
commentators. II. Some hold that it may have been directed against
the common practice of divorce, and that it was designed to exclude
from the offices of the church those who had put away their wives with¬
out a justifiable cause and taken another. It may include these also,
but this explanation would imply that such persons were received into
the membership of the church, and that they could not be set apart

138 WHAT SHALL BB DONE WITH CONVEETS [March-

as officers in the church. This class of persons would be as clearly
excluded from the membership of the church by our Lord's law of
marriage, as those who had a plurality of wives, for it was in
reference to persons who had loosely divorced their wives that
our Lord declared the law of marriage. If, then, according to this
interpretation this class of persons were admitted to membership in
the church, then also might polygamists be admitted. But thirdly,
most Protestant writers understand this passage to mean that Bishops
and Deacons could not have more than one wife at the same time.
Among commentators who hold this view we may refer to Whitly,
J. Wesley, Scott, Macknight, Calvin, Peter Martyr and Barnes.

Whitly, in explaining the passage “ the husband of one wife”
writes, “For the Jews and Greeks” says Theodoret, “were wont to
he married to two or three wives together. I approve of the inter¬
pretation of some of the ancients, which is also mentioned by Jerome
and by Chrysostom, declaring that the Apostle does not here oblige
the Bishop to be married, but only corrects the immoderate ness of
some, and because, among the Jews, it was lawful both to marry
twice and to have two wives together, and it was common with them
to divorce one and take another.” Comm, on I Tim. m: 2.

Rev, John Wesley on the same passage of Scripture writes,
“ This neither means that a Bishop must he married, nor that he
may not marry a second wife, which last it is just as lawful for him
to do as to marry the first, and may, in some cases, be his bounden
duty. But whereas polygamy , and divorce on slight occasions,
were common, both among the Jews and heathens, it teaches us that
ministers, of all others, ought to stand clear of these sius.”

Rev. Thomas Scott writes as follows on I Tim. m; 2. “Some
have endeavored to infer a part of that- (Roman Catholic) system
from this clause, and have supposed that the Apostle meant to pro¬
hibit second marriages to the clergy. But this is contrary to the
whole tenor of Scripture. It is by no means contained in the words,
and would certainly bring in a part of those evils, which long ex¬
perience has found inseparable from the general prohibition. For
as good reasons may often be given for marrying a second wife as
for marrying at all. * * * He (a Bishop) ought also to be the “ hus¬
band of one wife.” Christ and his apostles expressly condemned
polygamy , as well as divorce, except for adultery. Yet then was no
direct command for a man , who had previously taken more wives than
one, to put the others atcay when he embraced the Gospel. But the rule
that no man, however qualified in other respects, should be admitted
to the Pastoral office, who had more than- one wife, or who had put

WHO HAVE MORE THAN ONE WIFE.

139

Apirl.]

away one to take another, tended to show the unlawfulness of poly¬
gamy and divorces on frivolous pretences, and their inconsistency
with the Christian dispensation ; and concurred, with other things,
to bring them into total disuse in the Christian Church yet
with out violence and confusion.” Comm, on I Tim. in: 2.

Dr. James Macknight writes on the passage. “The husband of
one wife. That the Gospel allows women to marry a second time,
is evident from I Cor. vii. 9,89. By a parity of reasoning it allows
men to marry a second time also. Wherefore, when it is said here
that u a Bishop mnst be the husband of one wife ” the apostle could
not mean that persons, who have married a second time, are thereby
disqualified for sacred offices. His meaning, therefore, in these
canons is, that such persons only are to he entrusted with sacred
offices, who, in their married state, have contented themselves with
one wife at a time. As the Asiatic nations universally practise
polygamy, the Apostle, to bring back mankind to use marriage
according to the primitive institution, which enjoined one man to
one woman only at a time, ordered, by divine inspiration, that none
should be made Bishops but those who showed themselves temperate
by avoiding polygamy.

It may be objected, perhaps, that the gospel ought to have
prohibited the people as well as the Ministers of Religion, from poly¬
gamy and divorce, if these things were morally evil. As to divorce , the
answer is, that by the precept of Christ, all, both clergy and people,
were restrained from unjust divorce. And with respect to polygamy,
being an offence against prudence rather than against morality, it
had been permitted to the Jews by Moses, Deut. xn, 15, on account
of the hardness of their hearts, and it was generally practiced by
the eastern nations as a matter of indifference. It was, therefore,
to he corrected mildly and gradually, by example, rather than
express precept. And seeing reformation must begin somewhere it
was fit to begin with the Ministers of Religion; that through the
influence of their example, the evil might be remedied by degrees,
without occasioning those domestic troubles and causeless divorces, which
must necessarily have ensued, if, by an express injunction of the
apostles, husbands, immediately on their becoming Christians, had
been obliged to put away all their wives except one. Accordingly,
the example of the clergy, and of such of the brothers as were not
married at their conversion, or who were married to only one
woman, supported by the precepts of the gospel, had so effectually
rooted oat polygamy that the Emperor Valentinian, to give counte¬
nance to his marrying Justinia, during the life of his wife Severa,

140 WHAT SHALL BE DONE WITH CONVERTS [March-

whom he would not divorce, published a law, permitting his subject
to have two wives at a time.”

John Calvin writes on this passage “ the husband of one wife”
thus; “The only true exposition of these words is that of Chrysostom,
that polygamy is here expressly forbidden in a Bishop, which, at
that time, had almost become a law among the Jews. And so it is
not without reason that Paul forbids this stain from the character
of a Bishop. Here, however, it is objected that what is vicious in
all, ought not to have been condemned or prohibited in Bishops only.
The answer is easy, that license is not, on this account, given to others
because this is expressly forbidden in Bishops. Nor can we have
any doubt that Paul condemned generally what was repugnant
with the eternal law of God. Por the decree is fixed and sure.
“They two shall be one flesh.” But he might, however, endure in
others what, in a Bishop, would have been too disgraceful and intol¬
erable: but Paul repels all from the Episcopal order, who have
committed such an offence. And so, compelled by necessity, he
bears with that, which, being already done, could not be corrected
but only in the common laity. Por what remedy was there?
Should those have put away their secoud and third wives who had
entered into a state of polygamy under the Jewish dispensation ? But
such a repudiation would not have been without wrong and injustice.
He left untouched, therefore, what was not new and entirely in his
own power, and only provided that no Bishop should be soiled with
such a stain.”

Peter Martyr, in his Loci Communes, asks “ If a pagan were in
our day converted to Christ, having two wives, could such polygamy
be endured under the Christiana dispensation?” His answer, is “Cer¬
tainly/or the time. For they contracted with each other in good
faith. Nor must a wrong be done to the wives, for each of them
has a claim upon her husband. The law, which Christ gave, ought,
however, to hold for the future. But what has been done, and done
with good faith, probably in ignorance, cannot be rescinded .”

The Rev. Albert Barnes, on I Tim. m : 2 writes, the hus¬
band of one wife* need not be understood as requiring that a bishop
should be a married man, as Vigilantius, a Presbyter in the church at
Barcelona in the fourth century, supposed. But, while this inter¬
pretation is to be excluded as false, there has been much difference
of opinion on the question whether the passage means that a
minister should not have more than one wife at the same time,
or whether it prohibits the marriage of a second wife after the death
of the first. On tliis the notes of Bloomfield, Doddridge and
Macknjght may be consulted. That the former is the correct

who have moke than one wipe.

141

April.]

opinion seems to me to be evident from the following considerations:
(1) It is the most obvious meaning of the language, and it would
doubtless so be understood by those to whom it teas addressed. At a
time when polygamy was not uncommon to say that a man should
have but one wife would be naturally understood as prohibiting
polygamy. (2) There was a special propriety in the prohibition of
polygamy. It is known that it was extensively pratieed and was
not regarded as unlawful/’ We might multiply quotations from
commentaries showing that in the opinion of many Protestant
writers, this passages in I Tim. m 2; and 12 prohibits those who
had more than one wife being received into the office either of Bishop
or Deacon.

The reasons which are given by these several writers whose
words have been quoted commend themselves as words of “truth and
soberness/’ especially the first reason given by Mr. Barnes that this
meaning a is the most obvious meaning of the words and that it
would be thus understood by those to whom it was addressed.”
These considerations are w all matters of interpretation the most
reliable ones for the right understanding of any passage. It is right
to understand a passage in the most obvious meaning of the words
and as those to whom it was addressed would understand it.

If it is accepted that these passages of St. Paul’s direction to
Timothy forbid him to induct any one into the office of Bishop
or Deacon, who had more than one wife, then it necessarily follows
by implication that there were those in the church who had more
than one wife. That this follows as a necessary implication is clear
from the "following considerations. The officers of the church were
selected only from those who were members of the church. If
then, there were no members of the church who had more than one
wife it would be entirely superfluous to forbid Timothy to induct
any one into any office of the church who had more wives than one—
for as there were no such persons among the members, then no one
with more than one wife could possibly be presented for the office of
bishop or Deacon. On the supposition that there were among the
members of the church those who had more than one wife, then the
Apostolic injunction that such could not be ordained either as
Bishop or Deacon is pertinent and necessary. But on the suppos-
tion that there were no members in the church who had more than
one wife the injunction was entirely superfluous and unnecessary.
As Prof. Goodrich in liis letter to the American Board has expressed
it, " We know that polygamy was a prevailing custom among the
Greeks, as well as oriental nations, in the Apostolic times. As
Timothy and Titus were sent to churches conposed chiefly of Jews

142 WHAT SHALL BE DONE WITH CONVERTS [March-

and Greeks, it would seem hardly possible but that some of the
members of those churches had become converts to Christianity
while living in a state of polygamy. If, then, there was a rule in
operation at that time, requiring that all such persons should cease
to be polygamists on their admission to the church; that every
married Christian man should be u the husband of one wife;” it
would seem unnecessary at least to add such an injunction in respect
to the clergy. It would be like soberly requiring that the
Jewish Priests should be circumcised men, when without being
circumcised they could not be Jews at all. It does, then, seem to
be a legitimate inference, that if the rule given to Timothy was
really directed against polygamy in the highest church officers, there
could not have been another and broader rule in operation excluding
polygamists from all access into the church.” In other words we
are warranted in drawing the inference that persons who gave
evidence of conversion to Christ and who had more than one wife
were admitted into the early Christian church without being
required to put away the other wife. This being the usage in the
early Christian church under Apostolic sanction, it is an authoritative
rule for the guidance of missionaries, under similar circumstances
in these eastern lands, as China and India. I hold, then, that the
action taken by the missionaries of various denominations in
Calcutta in 1834 was entirely in accordance with Apostolic usage.
The Denominations represented at this Conference were these, viz ;
the English Baptist, the London,and the Church Missionary Societies,
the Church of Scotland and the American Presbyterian Church.

It is stated that in this Conference after having had the whole
subject frequently under discussion, and after much and serious
deliberation, they unanimously agreed on the following proposition,
though there had previously been much diversity of opinion among
them on various points. “ If a convert before becoming a Christian
has married more wives than one, in accordance with the practice of
the Jewish and early Christian churches, he shall be permitted to
keep them all; but such a person is not eligible to any office in the
church. In no other case is polygamy to be tolerated among Chris¬
tians.” (Brown, Hist, of Missions, in, 365,366).

I designedly limit the proposition to these eastern or Asiatic
countries, excepting therefrom the Polynesian Islands and parts of
Africa. Our knowledge of their matrimonial usages is not suffi¬
cient to justify us in expressing any opinion in regard to them. From
some statements we have seen of the polygamy which prevails among
them, it would appear that it is rather low and pernicious and
temporary. If their marriage relations are not permanent and well

WHO HAVE HOPE THAN ONE WIPE.

143

April.]

defined; then an entirely different action is required in regard to it
from that taken by the missionaries in India in 1834. It would
require that the marriage relation should be fixed de novo as all the
institutions in Church and State have to be arranged anew. As it was
among peoples in the condition of these uncivilized tribes that some
of the missionary Societies, who have adopted u the rule that a man,
before he can be admitted to membership, must put away all his.
wives but one ” as stated in the quotation from the American paper,
commenced their evangelizing labours, it was in view, perhaps, of
the state of the marriage relation existing among these tribes that
they were led to adopt this rule. And they have yet seen occasion to
modify it to suit the different state of things in other lands. It is
to be hoped that the wail of this distressed woman at Swatow, and
the most heart-rending statement of her wrongs as written out by
Dr. Ashmore, will lead every missionary and every missionary Society
to study anew the teaching of the New Testament on this subject.

I hold (1) that the principles of the divorce rule in the old
Testament church which recognized those who had a plurality of
wives as members of that church, warrants the admission of converts
who have more than one wife into the Christian church as a temporary
measure without requiring them to put all away but one. (2) That
as the rule of the Kingdom which requires a Christiana “ only to
marry iu the Lord,” does not nullify the marriage between the con¬
vert and his unbelieving wife, and that he may be received into the
church without putting away his unbelieving wife, so, by a parity
of reasoning the law of the Kingdom, which declares “ that marri¬
age is between one man and one woman ” does not affect the relation
which a man may have contracted with a second wife before his
conversion, and so he may be received into the church without putting
away any of his wives. (3) I think, that, having the geneial con¬
sent of many learned and godly men of various ages from the
fourth century to the present time, that the passage in the Epistle
to Timothy, “ the husband of one wife,” in its most obvious sense
means to prohibit any one who has more than one wife from being
ordained as a Bishop, it follows as the obvious and necessary
inference, that persons with more than one wife were received into
the early Christian church under apostolic sanction. And hence we
have the • most certain warrant for receiving converts, in these
Asiatic countries where polygamy prevails, who have more wives than
one, into the church without requiring them to put away all of them
but one. I hold therefore, that this woman was greatly wronged in
the name of the Gospel of Christ; that the Gospel does not require
the second wife to be torn away from her husband; to be driven

144 correspondence. [March-

away from her home; to have her good name destroyed; her children
declared illegitimate and deprived of her loving care and instruction.
But, on the contrary, she has the right to continue in the enjoyment
of the love and protection of her husband; to continue in the position
and honor of a woman who has a husband; (which in China is no
small blessing) to have the comfort and support of a home with chil¬
dren in it to honor her. That she has a right to all these now that
they are purified and blessed to her and her husband by the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, the influence of which is to bless and purify all
the relations of life.

It was the wail of the slaves of America as voiced by Mrs.
Stowe in Uncle Tom’s Cabiu that did much to attract the attention
of mankind to the wrongs of the slaves. It may be that it is the
purpose of God, in his good providence, to make the wail of this
Chinese woman of Swatow as voiced by Rev. Ur. Ashmore awaken
the missionaries and the missionary Societies to the wrong don©
to the innocent by requiring as a requirement to admission to the
church what the Head of the church has not enjoined, and thus
lead them to change the rule on this point for Asiatic converts; for
this result I shall continually pray and most earnestly hope.

Evangelist.

Gitropdflitt.

An Open Letter to Dr. Dudgeon ,

Sir,

In an article published in the May-June number of the
Chinese Recorder, headed Opium and Truth, and bearing your name
tli© following passages appear:—

“ Error and wrong, not truth, will suffer from agitating this
dirty pool. Foreigners in China, living in concessions apart by
themselves, including our Ministers, Consuls, and Merchants, see but
comparatively little of Chinese private life and of the result of Opium
smoking. The latter have their trade interests at stake, and self interest
is a wonderful blind to the evils of Opium. It is after all medical men,
missionaries, and travellers, who are most competent to pronounce
decidedly regarding many important points involved in the discus¬
sion of such a subject, either as the result of their own observations,
or as the expression, from long intimacy with them and a.thorough
acquaintance with their language, manners, customs and modes of
thought, of the Chinese view, notwithstanding the charge to the
contrary of their statements being loose .”—(The italics are my own).

CORRESPONDENCE.

145

April.]

It is scarcely surprising that statements such, as those con¬
tained in the foregoing extracts should be considered by foreigners
resident in China as somewhat “loose.” If, as you assert in a
later part of your article, “the result of opium smoking is inevitably
the same, physical, moral and financial ruin,” affecting a large
portion of the population, it would be interesting to learn how it is
possible that foreign merchants, brought by the necessity of their
avocatious into constant intercourse with some class or other of the
adult male part of the population, see, as you say they do, but little
of the effects of opium smoking. In this Colony at all events, the
head quarters of the opium trade, in which there is no prohibition
against the practice of opium smoking, where there are naturally
fewer restraints than elsewhere imposed upon the habit by Chinese
public opinion and where, if anywhere, the vice, if vice it necessaril
must be, prevails to excess—foreigners do not live in a concession
apart, and their observation, as a body, of the effects of opium .smok¬
ing is likely to be at least as accurate as that of any special class of
foreigners upon the mainland. The particular allegation, however,
in your article which I desire to call in question and with regard to
which, as a merchant, I have a right to ask an explanation, is the
one that foreign merchants in China are blind to the evils of opium
smoking in consequence of the interest they have in perpetuating
the trade in opium. I agree with you that foreign mercantile men in
China, as a body, do not consider that the accounts, highly coloured
and sensational as they regard them, of opium smoking put forward
by the Anti-Opium Society, are a correct representation of fact.
They do not believe that “ the inevitable result is physical, moral,
and financial ruin,” but it is not the less certain that their opinions
in that respect are not biased by considerations of self interest. You
can hardly fail to be aware, and if you are not, yon must permit me
to say that the inaccuracy of your observation in respect of a noto¬
rious fact hardly justifies the confidence with which you appeal to
the testimony of medical men and missionaries with regard to other
alleged facts not quite so obvious, that the interests of the large
majority, probably more than 9/10ths, of the foreign merchants in
China are not concerned directly or indirectly ixr the perpetuation of
the opium trade. On the contrary it may be stated positively that
were the opium trade to cease the pecuniary interests of the
meacantile body generally not only would not suffer, but would be
directly benefitted. In that case (the cessation of the trade) produce
exported from China, which is now paid for to the extent of
£10,000,000, sterling by opium, the traffic iu which is controlled
and monopolized by a few British-Indian firms, would have to be
paid for by increased quantities of other descriptions of imports
which form the business of the bulk of the foreign community.

To avoid any misconstruction of my own motives for addressing
you on the subject of your article I think it right to say that I,
many years ago, came to the conclusion that it would be sound
policy on the part of the British-Indian Government to renounce its
direct connection with the cultivation of the Poppy plant and sale

146

CORRESPONDENCE?

[March-

of opium and to consent, under certain guarantees, to the abolition
or modification of the clauses in the Treaty of Tientsin which
include opium in the general category of goods which are subject
to a fixed tariff of duty.

I disagreed with the policy which framed the. opium clauses in
the Chefoo Convention, because that Convention proposed to settle
nothing. If ratified it would have failed to relieve the British
Government from the responsibility for the traffic or to do anything
to check the consumption of opium. On the other hand, its opera¬
tion would have been to transfer revenue from the British-Indian
Government into the pockets of Chinese Officials and to greatly
encourage the growth of the Poppy throughout China.

I am of opinion that when indulged to excess opium smoking
is productive of great individual misery and when practised iu
moderation that the apologies for its use are probably less effective
than those which can be offered on belialf of most kinds of alcoholic
stimulants. I am certain that the cost of it imposes a great pecuniary
burthen upon the industrious classes throughout the Empire which
every reasonable man would desire to see lightened and removed.

My experience, however, in this country extending over a period
of more than 30 years, during which I have been brought into con¬
tact with almost all classes of the population, prevent me from
acquiescing in the sweeping conclusion expressed in the paragraph
of your article which I have quoted. Knowing as I do, not excep¬
tional but numerous cases of natives who were contemporaries of my
own when I arrived in this country, who are my contemporaries now,
who have been regular opium smokers, some of them consuming as
much as 5 mace to 7 mace per day, and who are still not only well-
to-do men and good citizens, but are apparently in the possession of
all their faculties mental and physical, and being aware that 4/10ths
at the least of the adult male population of this Colony indulge iu
the habit, I cannot bring myself to believe that “ the inevitable
result of Opium smoking is physical, moral and financial rain.”

In conclusion I cannot refrain from expressing regret that a
public question involving issues which, so far as the English nation
is concerned, are almost exclusively national and political and affect
the pecuniary interest of a very limited number of individuals whose
voices, to do them justice, are seldom heard in the controversy,
cannot be discussed without passion, and that passion, as it appears
to me, entirely one-sided.

The cause of truth and justice in any controversy, I venture
to remind you, is not promoted by an advocacy which seeks to dis¬
credit the testimony of opponents by the imputation of base motives
and I claim for the foreign merchant in Chiaa qualifications for an
examination into the conditions of the opium question as honest
and independent as those which you pat forward as being the almost
exclusive possession of medical men, missionaries and travellers.

I am, Sir,

Your most obedient servant,

P. Bulkeley Johnson.

April]

CORRESPONDENCE.

147

Number of Opium Smokers in China.

Mr. Editor :—

Sinca my letter to the Chinese Recorder, a year ago, many facts
have been made public which change the estimates then made as to
the number of opium smokers in China, as well as in regard to other
points of the opium discussion. The estimate made by the Inspector
General, Sir Robert Hart, of the amount of native grown opium
was 100,000 chests. The statements which have been published
since that estimate was made, make it evident that the quantity of
native opium grown during the last year must be nearly, if not
quite, 300,000 chests.—And the statements as to the number of
the population in the opium producing provinces who smoke the
drug is perfectly appalling. The number has been stated as high as
sixty out of every hundred of the whole population in some provinces.
Mr. Spence of H. B. M. Consular service reports the production of
Szech/uen, Kweichow and Yunnan provinces to be 224,000 chests
annually. The number of 76000 chests, in view of the statement of
of the extent of its cultivation, would appear to be a moderate
estimate for the quantity produced in Shansi, Shensi and Kansuh
provinces and in Manchuria. Iu my former letter I gave as a
probable estimate of the smokers of 100,000 chests of imported and
100,000 chests of native drug, as ten million};. But in view of the
statement that the quantity of the native drug is three times as
much as it was then estimated to be, that number is entirely too few
to consume such a quantity and the statements of those who are
residents in these opium producing provinces as to the proportion
of the population who use the seductive poison make it evident
that the number of smokers is vastly beyond any number which
has been hitherto surmised.

In view of the quantity of the drug which is now produced,
and the statements of the residents in, and the travellers through
these six provinces in which it is grown, a moderate estimate
will make the number of smokers to be nearly thirty millions,
or one tenth of the whole population of the Empire, estimating
it at three hundred millions. As many of the smokers are youth
and women they will not use as much as older smokers. This is a
most appalling view of the condition of vast portions of this populous
country. It looks as if the country was indeed going to ruin. If
it is to be saved from this blighting influence, it behoves the friends
of China, both foreign and native, to bestir themselves with an
earnestness-which has never yet been manifested by them.

The Rev. C. A. Stanley in a letter published in the Missionary
Herald of Boston for February 1883, says f£ The use of opium
extends to all classes. Its use is far more common among the
poorer classes [in Slianse] than on the Chili plain. I was told
that women use it quite extensively as well as men. Also by
Chinese'it is estimated that near, or quite eight-tenths of the entire
population use the drug.” A correspondent of one of the Shanghai

148

CORRESPONDENCE.

[March-

papers stated that the officials of Shansi had stated that 60 per
cent of the country people is Shansi used opium and 80 per cent
of the entire population of the cities used it. These statements
will certainly refer only to the adult population for it is incredible
that eight-tenths of the entire population including meD, women
and children should use the drug. But the statement shows how
almost universal is the use among the adult population including
women as well as men. The aggregate population of the six
provinces in which opium is largely produced is 71,684,500. If
we take the estimate that eight-tenths of the whole population smoke,
which is evidently a low estimate, the number of smokers in these
six provinces would be over 20 millions, leaving only 10 millons in
the other twelve provinces at the estimate of 80 millions of smokers
in the Empire.

Another point which claims attention is this-—the rapid increase
of the growth over large and extensive districts of country. Hitherto
the attention has been more directed to seeking to arrest the
importation of the foreign drug. It was supposed that the native
drug was not much in quantity, that it was grown in some measure
clandestinely and that its growth could be easily suppressed at any
time by the enforcement of the laws which forbid the growth of the
poppy. But we are awakened from these delusive surmises by the
astounding fact that three times as much drug is produced as is
imported: that the poppy is openly grown over extensive districts
in these six large provinces; and that during the last fifteen years
the laws againts its growth have been in abeyance: and now the
last statement reaches us from. Shensi “that proclamations have
been issued from the highest officials legalizing the traffic in opium
and imposing a regular tax on each catty.” In view of this state of
things the foreign import sinks into comparative unimportance.
It drains money out of the country, it is true—but its comparative
high price limits it to the supply of the wealthy, and it is used
largely to supply the cravings of those who have already formed the
habit. But this native growth is so cheap that it is within the
reach of all classes and it is extending the use of the poison into
districts and provinces, which, till within a few years, had but few
smokers because of their distance from the seaboard and the dear¬
ness of the foreign drug. The habit is thus being formed by the
cultivators of the ground; and the ground hitherto used for the
growth of the grains needed to support the population is being
largely used to grow a noxious drug. The rapidity of the increase
of the production of the drug and of the number of those who use
it within the last ten years is most alarming. And if nothing is
done to stay the progress thereof it is impossible to ■ foresee what
will be the extent of the increase.

But what can be done by the friends of China who would save
its people from this blighting curse ? Our hope and trust first must
bo in God. It is important to consider that just in this extremity
the Anti-opium Prayer Union has been formed in London. Let all
the missionaries in China join this Union and cry mightily to God

CORRESrOXDENCE-

149

April.]

that lie would arrest the progress of this desolating evil. Let them
seek to arouse the Chinese Christians everywhere to consider the
extent of the evil that they may join in tki9 concert of prayer for its
removal. And then let all who are interested in the matter do what
they can to arouse the people and goverment of China to the fear¬
ful evil of the present policy of the goverment; and use all possible
means to lead the Chinese Government to enforce the laws of the
country against those who are engaged in the growth of the poppy.
Nothing but the most prompt and energet ic action of the Government
can stay the increase of this production or diminish its present
expansion.

In the hopes that by the growth of the native drug they would
shut out the foreign, the goverment has winked at the violation of
its own laws till the evil has become almost, if not entirely, beyond
its control. The plan has entirely failed in effecting the desired
obj&ct, as the foreign article has continued to come in un diminished
quantity, year after year and to sell after the former prices. And
this native production has led untold multitudes, in districts which
were not reached by the foreign drug to form the habit of using the
seductive poison until now the number of the consumers of the
native drug is probably six-fold greater than the number of those
who use the foreign drug. Let the Government be warned and urged
to give up this futile and most mischieveous effort to shut out the
foreign drug by providing a supply of the native article. Let it be
urged to stop at once this tacit permission to grow the poppy before
these unnumbered millions who are not yet confirmed in an invete¬
rate habit are hopelessly enslaved by it. Return to a rigid enforce¬
ment of the laws against this injurious product till its growth
is every where stopped. Let the missionaries every where warn aud
exhort the people against the use of the poison and form societies to
help the present victims to escape from its toils and thus seek to do
away the evil of its use. The British Government has been forced
to withdraw the licenses which had been given for the sale of opium
in Burmah because of the report of its own Commissioner of the
evil the nse of the drug was bringing upon the population. It is to
be hoped when British Statesmen come to realize the terrible evils
which the growth and use of opium are bringing upon China
they will yield to China’s entreaty and help to arrest the desolating
curse. If something is not done then the hope for any increase of
trade in China for foreign importations is at end. If this present
increase of the growth and consumption continues the country is
hopelessly ruined.

Yours truly,

Observer.

150

MISSIONARY NEWS.

[March-

fjttjwiiinatu $ffos.

We are dependent upon our Correspondents for items for this department
of the Recorder. Will yon not make greater use of our columns to give infor¬
mation to your fellow -missionaries !

girth, jnut

BIRTH.

At Soocliow, on April 19th the wife of
Rev. J. N. Haves American Pres¬
byterian Mission, North, of a son.

DEATH.

At Boston, Massachusetts, U. S. A-
on January 16th, the wife of Rev.
AV. Dean D.D. American Baptist
Mission Bangkok.

Arrivals.—O n November 5th, at
Sbnuwu, Rev. and Mrs. J.E.Walker
and child of the A.B.C.F. Mission,
on their return.

On April 5th, per s.s. ‘‘City of
Tokio ” and “ Hiroshima jl/ant”
Rev. and Mrs. G. H. Appleton and
child to join the AmericauEpiscopal
Mission at Shanghai.

On April 18th, )iev s.s. Brindisi
Mrs. J. E. Cardwell and daughter,
of the C. I. Mission on their return.
Rev. F. A. Steven to join the C. I.
Mission at Yangchow.

* *

Departures. —On March 27th, per
s.s. “ Coptic” Mrs. A. P. Happer,
Canton, for the United States.

From Hongkong on April 18th,
per s.s. Heeler. Air. J. Thorne, of
the American Bible Society, for
U.S.A.

From Shanghai April 12th, Mr.
and Mrs. A. Gordon, for Australia.

From Shanghai April 25th, per
s.s. ToJcio Mo.ru Rev. W. H. Shaw
A. B. C. F. Mission Pao-ting-fu,
for U. S. A.

From Foochow Rev. S.F. Woodin,
A. B. C. F. Mission for U. S. A.
Mrs. Wolfe, A.M.S., for England.

Peking. —The petition to the Bri¬
tish House of Commons against the
opium trade from the Protestant
missionaries in China was dispatch¬
ed from Peking on the 23rd March.
It was sent to the “ Society for the
Suppression of the Opium Trade ”
with the request that they would
arrange for its presentation to the
House. The petition Is over twelve
feet long aud contains 239 signa¬
tures. Four English missionaries
declined to sign it; one because ho
disagreed with the object of the
petition, two because they objected
to its form and one for veasons
not stated. Two American mis¬
sionaries, while expressing hearty
sympathy with the aim of the peti¬
tion, thought they could not, as
American citizens, sign a document
addressed to the British House of
Commons. The German mission¬
aries seem all to have signed it.
Absence in the country and else¬
where w'hen the petition was circu¬
lated prevented many from signing,
so that the number of signatures
is not so complete as we could wish,
though it is, perhaps, as great as.
under the circumstances, we could
expect.

a *

*

Tientsin.— -Rev. C. A. Stanley has
recently returned from a 27 day’s
trip in the interior He baptized
5 converts. He found that the
Roman Catholics had been trying
to draw awrny the converts at ouc
village, but had not succeeded. It
seems as though there is enough to
do in converting heathen without
attempting to pervert Christians.
The attempt is reported to have

MISSIONTABY NEWS.

151

^■pril.]

been made by a foreign priest. Two
native nuns have gone to the same
village and for the same purpose.

Dr. Howard expects to vetnrn to
U.S.A. soon for a vacation which
she richly deserves. It is to be
hoped she will return soon and
tiling help with her of her own sex
and profession. Dr. B. C. Atterbnry
of the Presbyterian Mission, Peking,
has accepted an invitation to take
charge of Dr. Mackenzie’s Hospital

during his enforced absence.

* *

*

Ceiefoo. —Rev. J. L. Nevins, D.D.,
of the American Presbyterian Mis¬
sion lias recently returned from his
winter tour. Others of the same Mis¬
sion are expected soon, and we hope
to send some.account of the results
of these evangelistic tours for the
next Recorder.

***

WetniKN.—Some difficulties have
been met by Revs. Laughlin and
It. M. Matcer in their efforts to
locate at this new station of the
American Presbyterian Mission.
Nothing serious is apprehended. It
is expected t hat the medical practice
of Dr. H. R. Smith will go far to¬
ward allaying any misgivings which
may trouble the native mind.

***

Shanghai. —Since our last issue the
Venerable Archdeacon Moule and
family, of the English Church
Mission, have removed from Hang¬
chow to this place. Mr. Moule takes
up the tho duties of Secretary of
the Mission.

At the March meeting of the
Shanghai Conference a resolution
was adopted which may interest
others. It. was decidod unanimously
that no missionary would, hereafter,
employ the native converts of an¬
other Mission than bis own, without
first obtaining the permissiou of the
foreign missionaries in charge. We
believe this is a wise measure, and
it will prevent the running about
of those restless spirits, found every¬
where, who are fond of change at
any cost. Another measure pro¬

posed was to consider the feasability
of a standard of wages to be paid
to native agents, for the sake of
preventing what othorwise might
appear to he an overbidding for
native help. This matter was en¬
trusted to a representative com¬
mittee, to bo reported on at some
future time.

There is some prospect that
Shanghai will soon have a Hospital
for women. There aro three Hos¬
pitals here in the charge of male
physicians, and they are visited
principally by Chinamen. There
is a rumor that steps have been
taken toward tho opening of a
Woman’s Hospital, under the direc¬
tion of a female physician. We are
not at liberty to say more than that
the matter is in good hands.

Some thing new and adapted to
attract the attention of the Chineso
has been prepared by Rev, W.
S. Holt, in the shape of pla¬
cards printed on white paper in
colored ink. These placards aro
intended to be posted on the walls
of Chinese cities, at the gateways
or street corners. They have a
single sentence “ Como to Jesus.”
or ''Trust iu Jesus for Salvation”
in large, hold Chinese type, while in
smallerfcype is found au invitation to
como and hear the Gospel at tho
Chapel in—street. These posters
can be snpplied at ?2.00 per 100
upon application to Mr. Holt.

***

Nixgpo. —The American Presbyter¬
ian Mission has opened a hospital
and Dispensary here, under tho
direction of Dr. J. E. Stubbert.
The prospects for its usefulness aro
encouraging, Dr. Stubbert has five
young Cinnamon with him as me¬
dical students. In connection with
the same Mission is a Theological
class of seven young men. Of these
fivo are graduates from the Board¬
ing school in Hangchow, and are
now uuder tho instruction of Revs.
Butler and McKee, preparing for
the Gospel ministry. Beside their
professional studies several of the

152

NOTICES OP BECENT NJBlJCATIONS.

students from. the Hospital and the
Theological class are studying Eng¬
lish, an almost indispensable branch
for those who ave to be progres¬
sive, well-furnished clergymen or
physicians.

The Presbyterial Academy has
begun its second year. The super-
indendent is Rev. Hr. Tang, one of
the best scholars in the Ningpo
Presbytery. There are some 30
pupils in the school. One of the
medical students, Wn Kwei-s&ng,
comes from Rev. Dr. Favnham’s
school in Shanghai. While there he
learned enough English to enable
him to teach it. He has a class
of 20 boys in the school, whom he
is introducing to the “red-haired
language.”

A location for aSanatariuru easy
of access, has been found. Jt is at
Ta-li-shan about 15 miles

from the city. The altitude of the
hill is such as to secure pure air
and coolness two essentials for the

[March-

dwellers in this malarial plain. Dr.
Lord of the Baptist Miseion has
begun a simple summer residence ;
the Presbyterian Mission has a lot
and hopes to build before the
summer, and we hear that the
Customs Officials are looking that

way if nothing more.

* *

#

Canton. —Mr. J. Thorne who has
been acting as Col porter of tho
American Bible Society at this port
has been obliged to give up his
work osving to ill health. He has
left for the United States via
Europe.

Bangkok. —The sad news lias reach¬
ed ns of the death of Mrs. Dean,
wife of tho veteran Dr. Dean of the
American Baptist Mission here.
She was at Boston preparing to sail
for Bangkok, when she was taken
ill and died. Mrs. Dean first camo
to Siam as a Missionary in 1839.
She was 64 years old at the timo
of her death.

ato a!

Aids to the Understanding of the Bible in the Chinese Written Language.

This work has been recently issued
from the press in two editions.
The smaller-paged book has 650
pages, counting each folded leaf
as two pages. The work consists
of a series of nineteen articles, by
eight different authors, on various
subjects, and is published “ by the
Loudon Religious Tract Society in
one volume, or in a form suitable
to accompany any edition of the
Chinese Scriptures and in the same
case. ( Too )” The scope of the work
is indicated by the titles here given.
(1) A General Introduction to the
Old and New Testaments. (2) In¬
troductions to tho Five Books of
Moses. (3-5) Introductions to the
remaining Books of the Old Testa¬
ment. (5) The Interval between

the Old and New Testaments, with
Jewish Sects and Orders. (6)
Introductions to tho Books of tho
New Testament. (7) Harmony of
the Gospels. (8) Notices of places
in the Bible also found mentioned
in the Books of the Han Dynasty,
B.C. 206 to A.D. 220. (9) Jewish
weights, measures and money. (10)
The Jewish Calendar and Feasts.
(11) Comparative Chronological
Tables of the Old and New Testa¬
ments with synchronous events in
China, Japan, Corea, Annum, Siam,
etc. (12) Plants and Animals Men¬
tioned in the Biblo. (13) Ethnology
of the Bible. (14) Intercourse of
the Jews with other nations. (15)
Miracles of the Old Testament. (16)
Parables of the Old Testament. (17)

N0TICE8 OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

153

April.]

Miracles of the New Testament.
(18) Bible Synopsis and Glossary
of Pli rases. (10) Five maps, viz.,
(1) Tbo World as known to the'
ancients. (2) The Holy Land a9*
divided among the Twelve Tribes.
(3) The Holy Land at and posterior
to the time of David. (4) Palestine
in the time of Christ. (5) The
Journeys of St. Paul and countries
mentioned in the Acts of the
Apostles.

The history of the Bible in China,
with the various Translations,
Commentaries and Explanatory
Note3, is an instructive one. The
translation of the Bible has encoun¬
tered many difficulties in its struggle
toward perfection, and the goal is
scarcely yet reached. The history
thereof begins with tho publication
of the “Acts of the Apostles,” as
revised from an old Ms. brought
from England and priuted in the
year 1810. This has Leen followed
by seven versions and revisions of
tho whole Bible in tho written or
classic language and the Mandarin,
and by nine versious of the New
Testament in various dialects. In
the effort to attain a literal, instead
of a somewhat paraphrastic, render¬
ing of the originals, translators
have been unable to avoid much
obscurity in the text. Perhaps not
a single chapter presents, through¬
out, the inspired thought fully and
clearly to the Chineso reader. The
sources of obscurity are well-known,
as being due to the great difference
between the original languages of
the Scriptures and the Chinese
language and to the new ideas,
customs and observances to be
expressed in the new idiom. Our
work in the dialects is easier and
more hopeful. Theso are living
tongues, more flexible and filled with
common phrases, level to the average
intelligence of the people. This is
an advantage, not possessed by the
written language, especially in its
higher classic forms. Instances,
illustrating the obscurity spoken of,
readily occur to us. Take the single

one of festival or feasts, and contrast
the Jewish Yu-yiieh Jf|, Chang-
mo $j| Wu-shiin 31 fn> with the
Chinese Yiian-hsiao 7C CIi ing-
tning flj, Chang-ch'iu 4* ffi-
The names, significations, forms of
observance and designs of the two
classes of observances are as wide
asunder as can well be imagined.
This serves as a sample - of the
difficulty to he overcome in attemp-
ing to make a foreign matter plain
to the native mind. But when it
is required to convey the sense of
the iuner, vital truth of the Word,
the labor is much increased. ■ Wo
are confronted with new difficulties
iu native modes of thought, tho
peculiar moral ideas of duty to
Heaven and man, and the ri<rid.
primary meaning of Chineso charac¬
ters, which too often resist adapta¬
tion to Scripture uses.

In this respect the “ Aids to the
understanding of the Bible ” are at
once welcomed as a valuable addi¬
tion to our Sacred Literature. Like
other treatises which appear from
time to tirno, they will help to tido
the Ohiuese leader over many an
obscurity in his Bible, and show
him that it holds a much, fuller,
richer thought than an unaided
perusal would lead him to expect.
Time will not admit of au exhaus¬
tive analysis of these valuable “aids”
now under review. Wo cannot
even mention all the important
points in them, as that would
involve a very lengthy statement.
Wo only aim to give within a
modest space such a view of their
main features as may serve to
show their wide range and their im¬
portance to nativo students and
readers.

1. General Introduction to the Old
and Neto Testaments in three starts, pp.
70.—These bear the apt title, Sn-
yiian mw.- Each of the three parts
is divided into chapters, but neither
the parts nor chapters have dis¬
tinct titles. A supply of these seems
to us desirable. They would bo

154

NOTICES OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

of use to tlio uninitiated Chineso
reader, as fiuger-posts are to the
traveler, when he reaches the bor¬
ders of an unknown land and looks
anxiously about for some certain
guide to his journey. We trast
that the author of those General
Introductions may insert suitable
headings in future editions of the
work. Ho prefaces his treatise
with a'list of the books of the S.S.
and their abbreviated names.

The First Part, including some
topics common to both Testaments,
relates mainly to the Old Testament
Books. It heats of the eight modes
of divine revelation; the name of the
Word, as given in the Bible itself;
of tho the dates of Old Testament
books with synchronous years in
Chinese reigns; of tho unity of
design and meaning in all tho Books,
though written in different times
and places by authors of different
character, tastes, attainments and
social position ; of the central posi¬
tion of Judea, as favorable to the
spread of the Truth; of the Sep-
tuagint and the Nestorian Tablet;
of the design and advantages of
patriarchal longevity as a sure
means pf oral transmission of the
facts of revelation; of the leading
subjects of the Old Testament writ¬
ings and the adaptation of S. S. to
popular language, while still true to
scientific facta in Astronomy and
Geology ; a most emphatic belief in
their divine origin ; of the Chaldee
Paraphrase, Talmud, etc ; of the
Jews’ very minute numerical esti¬
mate of tho wonderful agreement
of their Scriptures; of the Samari¬
tan Pentateuch; of the wouderfu)
agreement of inscriptions on tho
Babylonian and Egyptian monu¬
ments and ruins with the Scripture
records, proving or illustrating, (I)
the ancient worship of God, (2)
that Adam was made perfect, (3)
the fact of the Temptation and Ball
of man, (4) the fact, as evidenced
by pictures, of the Trco of Life and
and the Tree of Good and Evil in
the Garden of Eden, (5) the General

[March-

Expectation of a Saviour, (C) tho
Sabbath, (7) tho Longevity of the
Ancients, (8) the Deluge, (9) the
• many names of places in Palestine
agreeing with the names in the
Books 'of Samuel and the Kings.
It also treats of the dispersion of
the Jews by Roman power and
of tho textual agreement of tho
many copies of the Old Testament,
found in various places. This first
part closes appropriately with soiuo
account of the Apocrypha.

The Second Part relates mainly
to the New Testament. It notices
the four classes or divisons of its
books, and speaks of the promise
.and gift of the Holy Spirit, and of
tho authors and the genuineness of
the books; it alludes to the ques¬
tion whether the Apostle Thomas
visited China; it treats of tho exact
agreement between the two Testa¬
ments, os a key fitting its lock ; of
the Church's reverence for the Bible,
os a revelation from God and neces¬
sary to man’s salvation; of the
various translations, tho Syriac,
Vulgate etc.; of.the remarkable
preservation of the Bible; its 14
great leading doctrines, and its
translation into 408 languages ; also
of the difficulty of translating it
into the Chinese on account of tho
difference between it and the orig¬
inal Hebrew and Greek; This part
of tho Introduction closes with a
notice of the 13 uninspired books.

The Third Part is longer than
either of the others and, treats of
the divine inspiration and moral
power of the Bible. The following
summary must suffice, but is much
too fraguaeutary to do the subject
full justice :—The Sacred Books
are in differents styles, but all in¬
spired and following a certain order
of development, as seen in eleven
particulars drawn from the first
three chapters of Genesis in which
is shown God’s love to man, advanc¬
ing to the Revelation of His pur¬
pose to send a Saviour to deliver
man from sin. After the fall the
personal presence ceased, and there

N0TICE3 Off RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

155

April.]

succeeded various modes of divine
manifestation, as shown in eighteen
particulars, from Sacrifices on to
the fulfillment of the purpose in and
through Christ. The divine Word
has depths of meaning and is from
God, as is the material universe.
The truths of the Word nourish the
soul to salvation and eternal life,
though it has depths of Hosieries.
It is comprehensive and yields un¬
speakable blessings. As long inter¬
vals often elapsed between appear,
ances of sages aud patriarchs in our
world, so we perceive that Christ,
analogously, did not appear till Four
Hundred years after the Prophets.
While Scripture passages are often
brief, as the first chapter of Genesis,
we still find them vevy comprehen¬
sive and perspicuous, in striking
contrast to the redundancies of
human productions. This is a mark
of the divine inspiration of the
Word of God. Observe, also, the
great honesty of the sacred writers,
not glossing over, but insisting on,
the fact of man’s sinfulness, aud
the consequent necessity of repen¬
tance. The great wickedness of
the Jewish kings and people is
faithfully, delineated, yet see how
jealously the Jews themselves guard
the integrity of the Old Testament
Books, and even to their utmost
jot and tittle. Note that the sacred
writers are very different in char¬
acter, mind, occupation. Thus they
suit and influence different classes
of people. For a like reason there
were inspired women, as Miriam,
Hannah, Mary. Observe, again,
how the Scriptures differ from hu¬
man biographies. In the latter the
personal appearance of the subject
is delineated, but not so iu Bible
narratives. The thought of God
in this was to avoid the risk of
raen making likenesses of Scrip¬
ture worthies and worshiping them.
Prom such considerations we learn
the divine origin of the Bible. It
clearly discloses the mind of God
and the duty of man. It shows the
■value of the eoul and is therefore

indispensable to us. It is the re¬
gulator of the human mind and
enlightens the conscience, when
misled by false doctrines and sinful
passions. The books of men are
defective. For example, they treat
of the five constant virtues, but
omit that of Reverence for God.
They tveat of the five social rela¬
tions, but lack the relation between
Heaven and man, for God is the
Source of all relations. Again,
sages speak now of this, and now of
that, as “ the important thing,” but
the Bible comprehends all under*
the rule of love to God and to one’s
neighbor. This third part contains
a citation of sixteen particulars
which show a close correspondence
between the doctrine and facts of
the Bible and the facts under God’s
government in the natural world :
and it has a final chapter illustrat¬
ing, iu twelve particulars, certain
analogies between the deep things
of the Word and the mysteries
which wo meet in tlio world about
us. On this is founded an argu¬
ment that the Scriptures are also
from the same divine source. The
analogical argument is complete
and should be convincing.

This imperfect resume of leading
thoughts in the General Introduc¬
tion shows its range. The seventy
pages are stored with historical
facts and evidences, and with valu¬
able suggestions which cannot fail
to inform and stimulate the mind
of the reader. They will answer a
two-fold purpose, of aiding him in
a clearer understanding of what the
Bible ia, and of abating any unfor¬
tunate prejudice he may have that
it is a dry antiquated book quite
withdrawn from the sphere of com¬
mon life and human sympathies.

2. Introductions to the Five Hooks
of Moses , pp. 30 :—3 and 4,
Introductions to the remaining hooks
of the Old Testament , pp. 54.—
These Introductions are of various
lengths, proportioned to the require¬
ments of the different books. Those
to Genesis, FiXodus, and Daniel

NOTICES OP RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

156

occupy much more space than others.
Wo need not undertake an examina¬
tion seriatim. Tim merest outline
of somo of the leading ideas of the
first—that to the Book of Genesis—
mast suffice, “From one learn all.”
The Introduction to Genesis begins
with the statement that Moses
wrote the Book. This is followed
by a concise sketch of his life in 31
particulars with the proof-refer¬
ences. As to priority of dates of
ancient books, it is claimed that the
first eleven chapters of Genesis
stand first. Then come au Aceadito,
an Egyptian, the Chinese T'ung-yii
books, the Persian, the Phenician,
the Indiau. The contents of Genesis
are under 24 heads from the Crea¬
tion to Joseph. Different systems
of Cosmogony are stated as des¬
titute of proof. The account iu
Genesis is the true one, that of the
Creation of all tilings by One Eter¬
nal God. It is maintained that
scientific investigation proves the
truth of the Mosaic record, and that
the accounts of the earth and the
stellar heavens agree with the dedno¬
tions of true science. And so also
in regard to the results of man’s
Fall. God was kuown in ancient
times under different names iu
different countries, as seea from
inscriptions on ancient ruins. In¬
scriptions on Babylonian bricks, like
printing blocks, make up a com¬
plete volume. There are also found
delineations, Assyrian and Indian,
of the Serpent aud his doom. The
Sabbath, too, is indicated by cer¬
tain four characters in Chinese
constellations and calendars. There
are thus many corroborative proofs
of the truth of Genesis. There was
a sure oral transmission of its facta
through the longevity of the pat¬
riarchs. Notice also bow the Sab¬
batic division of time is made
prominent in the record of the
Deluge. There is contained in the
10th and 11th chapters of the
Book a plain, simple account of
the ancestry and rise of the var¬
ious tribes of the earth and of

[March-

t-lie posterity of Shem, followed in
chapters 12-50 by the history of
the ancestors of the chosen people.
Note, further, the faithful record
of the sins, as well as the virtues,
of the ancients—a strong presump¬
tive proof of the genuineness of the
whole record. As, iu a photograph,
ifyoa add anything after the in-
pression is taken, you so far detract
from the truth of the likeness, so in
theSeri pture portraitu res ,tho sacred
writer is the artist, the patriarch’s
character is the picture taken, the
Scripture is the camera, the Holy
Spirit is the sun, on which all
depends. Hence it is that good aud
bad alike stand out. This is a mark
of the genuine truth of the Bible.

5. Interval between the Old and
New Testaments with Jewish Sects
niul Orders, pp. 28.—A very im¬
portant treatise, in its right placo
between the Old and New Testa¬
ment Introductions. It is neatly
divided into two parts or volumes,
with sub-divisions into chapters,
each of which has its appropriate
title. Tim First Part, chapter
Is/; treats of the dynastic changes
and revolutions during this
interval of over 400 years. It is
shown, in evidence of the truth of
the sacred records, that these secu¬
lar histories exhibit the fulfillment
of prophecy, as iu regard to Baby¬
lon, Tyro and Egypt. The author
then gives a running history, in
distinct outline, of the various re¬
turns of the Jews from their dis¬
persions; of Judea under Persian
rule, as attached to the Province of
Syria; of the venality and world¬
liness of the Jewish High Priests;
of Alexander’s conquests and his
being informed about the prophecy
of Daniel regarding the overthrow
of Persia and of his consequent
favor to the Jews.: of the building
of Alexandria and the removing of
many Jews to that city; of the
division of the empire of Persia into
four kingdoms, of which the Syrian
and the Egyptian intimately con¬
cerned Judea, as, from its geograph-

NOTICES OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

April.}

157

ical position, it became the con¬
stant theatre of conflict between
these rival kingdoms; of the sad
degeneracy of the Jewish priests and
people; of the wicked carreer of
Antiochvs Epiphanes; of the rise
and victories of the Asmonean
princes; of Judea under Roman
rule and of the capture of Jerusalem
A. D. 63. The 2nd chapter treats
of t he rise and decay of Jewish Sects
and Orders. The Jews in their
dispersions carried their Sacred
Books with them and retained their
love for Jerusalem and the Temple.
Hence the record as given in Acts
)i: 9-11. Under the severe dis¬
cipline of their 70 years’ captivity,
they adhered to the worship of God
and expected the Messiah. But the
Old Testament doctrines and rites
were gradually corrupted and tradi¬
tion unduly exalted. Hcncc the
vise oF the Sects, as tho Pharisees,
Sadducees, and Esse lies. The
different tenets of these Sects are
explained, and this part closes with
a notice of Zealots, Herod inns,
Scribes, the Sanhedrin, Proselytes
and Samaritans.

The Second Part treats of the
connection between the Books of
the Bible. In the l.«f chapter it is
stated that the great idea of the
Old Testament is that the Law
cannot justify; that it foretells and
prefigures salvation by Christ in its
prophecies and sacrifices, and that
it is invaluable for its teachings
about God, ns the Creator, and
Governor of the World, and for its
testimony against idolatry and cor¬
rupt doctrine. Two kinds of con¬
nection between the Old and New
Testaments are stated—that the
Old prefigures and foreshadows the
^ew, and that the New Testament
records the fulfillment of the Old
Testament prophecies. The Old is
the shadow, the New is the sub¬
stance. There is a progressive devel¬
opment of the truth from Genesis
through to the Revelation—from
the ancient reverence for God (Gen.
I- xi and Job) to the hcavon of the

Book of Revelation, thus exhibiting
the two Testaments as essentially
one Book. The 2»dchapter explains
the connections between the Books
of the New Testament. In the New
Testament we have Christ presented
as the embodiment of the Gospel
and our Example, and see in him
the Invisible God in regard to tho
Truth and the Divine Perfections.
Ho witnesses to the Resurrection of
the dead and to Heaven as a place.
He came to fulfill tho Law and
establish the New Covenant. Notice
the gradual progress in his teaching
and, through the Holy Spirit, by
His Apostles and followers, which
shows the vital connection between
the Books of the New Testament.
The 3rd chapter states the con¬
nection between the Four Gospels,
which are all by one Divine Spirit,
though written by different authors
at different times. The Four are
One Gospel from different points of
view. “Matthew” for the Jews,
gives the genealogy of Jesus, as
descended from Abraham, to con¬
vince Jews that the Old Testament
prophecies were fulfilled in Him.
” Mark,” for Roman converts, in a
very concise style and containing
only 24 verses not found in Matthew
and Luke. “Luke,” for the Gen¬
tiles, presents Christ under a differ¬
ent aspect from tho other gospels,
and gives his genealogy from Adam,
as the progenitor of tho whole
human race; “ John,” deeper in
thought, more refined and subtile,
teaches the divinity of Christ and
how those in communion with Him
attain spirituality of mind. There
are other ideas given in this admii'a-
ble treatise, which could not be
included in an outline aiming at
brevity. The whole article presents
in a clear light what we may call
the secular and the spiritual con¬
nections of the two Testaments,
through the medium of the interval
which elapsed between the close of
the ono and the beginning of the
other. The many side lights thus
turned upon the Two Books, bring

158

NOTICES OF EECENT PUBLICATIONS.

ilicm into more distinct view, much
1.o llio advantage of the earnest
student.

G. Iiitrahicli/tiis to the Books of
the New Testament, pp. 38.—
In regard to these, as to those of
the Old Testament, no lengthy
notice is reqnired. They are all
very brief, in no case much exceed¬
ing two pages of the volume. A
summary of the first in order, that
to the Gospel of Matthew, will
answer as a sample of all,-—St.
Matthew, one of the twelve apostles,
was a Jew. At the call of Christ
ho left Ins employment of tax-
gatherer, and waited in person on
the Saviour’s teaching. He was a
witness of His life, miracles and
crucifixion, and was with him after
his resurrection. He thus knew
tho Saviour very intimately. He
wrote this Gospel in the 24th year
of the Advent, which was in the
time of Kwang-wu of the Han
dynasty. The order of events in
this Gospel differs from that in the
other three. The design is to wit¬
ness to Jesus as sent from God, and
as tr nly tho Messiah expected by
the Jews to fulfill the ancient pro¬
phecies. Hence it gives his genea¬
logy from Abraham, as the one
from whom he was to descend.
The book also adduces Old Testa¬
ment prophecies ns to the place of
his birth. The 28 chapters may be
divided into 6 sections, (1) Chapter
1 and 2 records the birth and youth
oE Jesus, (2) Chapters 3 and 4;
1-11, his baptism and temptation,
(3) Chapter 4 : 12—chapter 18, his
tcachingand healing in Galilee, (4)
Chapters 19 and 20, his words and
acts on his last journey to Jerusa¬
lem ; (5) Chapters 11-25, his entry
into Jerusalem and his teaching
there, (6) Chapters 26-28, his suffer¬
ings death, resurrection and apponv-
ances to his disciples. All these
sections show that Jesus was sent
from God to be the Saviour of men.

7. Ifarmony of the Gospels , pp. 34.
This is designed by a chronological
arrangement to show iu what Gos-

[Marcli-

I pel or Gospels particular subjects
are recorded. The Gospel of Mark
is taken as tho standard; for, unlike
the other three Gospels, it follows a
chronological or consecutivo order
of events. By this Harmony the
Four Gospels are made to appear
as one. The nnthor divides his
page horizontally into five parts.
In the upper part is a division into
“ seven chapters” or main subjects
of the Gospels, with sub-divisions
into series ofeventsaud their places
of occurrence added in small diame¬
ters. There are also a few references
to the Book of tho Acts and to the
First Epistle to Corinthians under
later events. Below are the four
renaming spaces, one for each Gos¬
pel, in which are the references by
chapter and verse to placeR in the
Gospels where the events are re¬
corded. The “ Seven Chapters” or
leading Subjects, designed to cover
the whole Gospel history, are (1)
tho advent and youth of Jesus, (2)
John, His Forerunner and the com-
mencementof Jesus’ public ministry
(3) His ministry from the first to
the second Passover, (4) His minis¬
try from the second to the third
Passover, (5)His ministry from' the
the third Passover to the events in
Bethany, (9) Jesus at the fourth
Passover in Jerusalem, (7) His
resurrection, appearances and as¬
cension. The sub-divisions of tho
seven chapters number over ICO,
so that the columns of references
under them are full and minute.
The advantages of the tables to the
Chinese student or ordinary reader
are evident. They present to his
view an account of the Saviour’s
whole lifo in the regular sequence
of its events. The result of dili¬
gence in constant study will be a
very clear, intelligent conception of
tho wovderful lifo of Jesus.

8. Notices of Bible places, aho
found mentioned in Books of the Non

dynasty, B.C. 206.—A.D. 220. pp 8-

The author doubtless encountered
some difficulty in getting up this
verv terse article, on account of tho

v '

NOTICES OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

159

April.]

obscurity of references in the Books,
and dissimilarity of names of places.
His research into the musty tomes
of the Han must often hare been
perplexing, and the application of
philological rules somewhat uncer¬
tain. We have, however, much
confidence that be would find solid
ground, if it could be found at all.
If others, who are competent for
the task, should happen in follow¬
ing his track to question his con¬
clusions at any point, both he and
they may well be excused for any
slight errors in (heir speculations
on such a subject. We regard the
author's contribution as a very
curious stone in a mosaic of colors
quite different from its own. It will
bo pleasing to the learned among
our native preachers, while very
instructive to every earnest Bible
student. It is probably a genuine
fragment on the sea of history,
showing the contact of the Sacred
Text with the books of au ancient
dynasty at a few important points.
The article is thus like unto a good
Babylonian brick, fitly inscribed.

9. Jewish weights , measures and
money, pp. 34.—This is a very
elaborate article, in which the
origin of terras, the capacities uses,
values and circulation of various
weights, measures, and money
(coined and uncoined) among
the Jews, are skilfully inves¬
tigated. The work appears to he
very comprehensive, relating not
only to national, legal standards,
hut to those introduced from other
countries, as Babylon, Egypt and
Syria, with which the Jews were
in close intercourse. The treatise
covers the whole Bible, and its
Scripture references seem ample
enough to illustrate the subject.
I could scarcely command the time
requisite for a thorough review,
but feel sure that no honest, pains¬
taking effort hag been spared to
produce a reliable work. It will be
valuable, (1)‘ to all particularly
interested in the study of numis¬
matics and kindred branches, (2)

to the constantly increasing class
of native preachers, and others,
who wish to understand the dress
in which the inspired text appears,
and to gain distinct ideas on cer¬
tain important points, not a few,
where even such incidentals as
money and measures, shed light on
its real meaning.

10. The Jewish Calendar and
Feasts, pp. 5.—These are given
in the form of a table or cata¬
logue, prefaced by a brief, ex¬
planatory note in regard to the
way in which the priests settled
the Calendar, the time of Pass-
over, and the triennial intercalation
of a month. The Table is arranged
with the Chinese months at the
top of the page, beginning with the
Eleventh, under which the space is
divided into five parts, (1) the
corresponding Jewish months, (2)
the feasts (3) the seasons, (4) the
weather or thermometrical changes.
(5) agricultural operations. At
the end of the Table, another short
note explains the difference between
the Jewish and Chinese Calendars.
In the Jewish the intercalated
month is invariably placed after
the first, while in the Chinese it is
inserted as the times and seasons
require. From this it results that
there is an entires want of corres¬
pondence in the numerical order of
the Calendars.

11. Comparative Chronological
Tables of the Old and Nciv Testaments,
giving synchronous events in China
and other Fasteni countries, pp. 50.
The two systems of Usher and
Hale arc mentioned, and the dates
of important events, from the Crea¬
tion to the death of Joseph are
given according to each system.
The compiler states the difficulty of
deciding which system, is correct,
bnt adds that the dates of over ono
thousand years from the Exodus to
the Advent are certain. In the
upper space of tho Tables are the
dates “Before Christ.” Under these
arc arranged important events in
Four distinct spaces, (1) Jewish

160

NOTICES OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

[March-

events, (2) Synchronous events in
the near and some Western lands,

(3) Synchronous events in China,

(4) Synchronous events in other
Eastern lands. Following the Old
Testament tables, and prefacing the
New Testament tables, are notes
explaining the error of four years
in the chronology of the common
era. In the upper space of the
New Testament tables we have,
arranged in order, the dates, begin¬
ning four years before the Common
Era. Under these arc the tables of
events in Five distinct spaces, (1)
Scripture events, (2) Synchronous
Jewish events, (3) Synchronous
“ western ” events, as the Roman
reigns, (4) Synchronous Chinese
ovents, (5) Synchronous events in
other Eartern lauds. We need only
remark in a word on the value of
these Tables in the Old and New
Testament chronologies. They ex¬
hibit in a perfectly connected series
the important eras and events from
the Creation down to the Revelation
of the Apostle John. The Tables
of Synchronous events in China and
the East add a feature which will
be of interest to the Chinese. Biblo
scenes and events are in a manner
brought near, localized, and divested
of a portion of their remoteness and
strangeness.

12. Plants and Animals Men-
tinned in the Bibls, pp. 50.—
Tina article is in Two Parts, and,
like that on weights, measures and
money, is elaborately composed, as
evident from the space occupied.
The First Part treats of Plants,
(1) Fragrant Shrubs, (2) Cereals
and Vegetables, (3) Miscellaneous
Grasses, etc., (4) Fruit Trees, (5)
Fragrant Trees, (0) Miscellaneous
Trees. The Second Part treats of
Animals. (1) Birds, (2) Domestic
Quadrupeds, (3) Wild Animals, Rep¬
tiles, Fishes, Insects. The work is
vepleto with the necessary Scvipturo
references. Whether or not a single
shrub or insect has escaped scrutiny
we are unable to say.Tho presumption
is wholly in favor of the negative.

13. Mhnofogy of the Bible, pp. 1G-
In his Introduction the author
states that his treatise refers to the
ancient countries which had rela¬
tions with the Jews, and that the
Bible is the source of authority on
the subject. Owning to its geo¬
graphical .position between three
Continents, Judea, though so small,
had wide international relations.
The periods of intercourse were
four, (1) the patriarchal, (2) the
times of the Kings, (3) the period
of the Captivity, (4) tho New
Testament period. The trealise is
in Four Parts, of which the and
third are sub-divided into short
chapters. Distinct reference is
made to Genesis 10 and Ezekiel 27,
as sources of ethnologic authority
and investigation. The lauds were
divided between the sons of Noah—
Shern in the centre, Ham in tho
South, and Jnphet in the North.
Beginning with Palestine, theanthor
gives a historical sketch of the
origin, etc., of the various tribes
and peoples known to the Jews,
and having a more or less intimate
connection with them, as the Ara¬
bians, Syrians, Chaldeans, Elamites,
Medes and Persians, people of the
Caucasus and Asia Minor, Egyp¬
tians, Greeks and Romans. He
distinguishes carefully between the
Arab tribes descended by different
lines from Abraham ; anti between
the tribes of Upper and Lower
Egypt, In the last chapter of Part
Third is an interesting reference to
the Jews’ knowledge of India and
China. Next to this treatise is
Number Fourteen, a longer and
equally valuable one by the samo
author.

14. Intercourse of the Chosen Peo¬
ple with other nations , pp. 20.—
The introduction states the geogra¬
phical position of the Jews among
ihe countries, on which, as a basis,
an examination into the subject of
their international relations may be
undertaken, and the results seen in
a wide corruption of morals and
religiou. All this, despite prophetic

NOTICES OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

161

April-]

admonition and warning. The
treatise is in four parts, of which
the first two are sub-divided into
chapters. The following themes are
dwelt upon. Part first, the rise and
decline of those nations through
constant wars. Part second, Jewish
intercourse nnd consequent corrup¬
tion in religion and worship. Part
third, the commercial intercourse.
Part fourth, the intercourse and
community of interest in learning
and the arts. The author considers,
in these relations with the Jewish
nation, the Egyptians, Assyrians,
Babylonians, Persians, Phenicians,
etc etc. In the third part, particu¬
lar mention is made of the four
highways of commerce, two by land
and two by water (i) tbe highway
from Egypt through western Canaan
to Lebanon and tbe Euphrates
at Carcheraish and the Tigris
at Nineveh, thence to Babylon
and the Persian Gulf. (2) tbe
highway from S. W. Arabia to
Mecca, Jordan, Canaan, thence
turning to N, Egypt. (3) the way
by water from Plienicia to Cyprus,
Greece, the South isles to South
Italy, North Africa and Spain, (4)
the way by water from North East
arm of Red Sea to South West
Arabia and the month of the Indus
and Ophir. The whole treatise is
very full in its geographical notes
and Scripture references.

15,1G, 17. The Old Testament mir¬
acles, the OldTestamcnt parables, awl
Ihc New Testament miracles, pp. 10.
These sections are, of course, very
brief, being simply three lists of
the miracles and parables. The
places of occurrence of the miracles
&re noted at the top of the page,
and Scripture references are placed
below in small type. To make this
section complete, a List of New
lestamenfc Parables should be ad¬
ded. This list numbers 64 in the
■Student s Edition of the Bible, is¬
sued by tbe American Tract Society.

18. luble Index ami Glossary
r<( Scripture Phrases, 'pp. 102.—
Ibis forms a separate volume, con¬

venient for use, in the small-paged
Edition of the “ Aids.” We have
first a short Introduction, stating
that the Inspired Word is scattered
through many volumes, like the my¬
riad things in the material world,
and not given to us in a systematic
form, as a theological treatise. Eroni
this arises the necessity of diligent
examination to ascertain its pre¬
cious truths and to present them in
a connected form. While a syste¬
matic arrangement is a laborious
task, its use when completed is
manifold. Following the Introduc¬
tion, is a list of the names (with
their abbreviated forms) of the 66
Books of tbe Bible, and a Table of
Contents in 12 sections, with the
list of subjects to be treated of
under each. The titles or headings
of the 12 sections are, (1) Concern¬
ing God, (2) Concerning Christ,

(3) Concerning the Holy Spirit,

(4) the Sacred Scriptures, (5) Man,
(6) the Gospel, (7) the Church, (8)
Trials and afflictions, (9) Human
Relations, (10) The Future World,
(11) Miscellaneous subjects, (12)
Explanation of Scripture names.
Coming to the body of the work,
we fiud in each of the 12 sections
or volumes a numerous collection
of explanatory phrases, grouped
under the leading subject or theme,
and illustrated, more or less cop¬
iously, by Scripture references in
small type. As these phrases are
not formally defined, the work is
not strictly a Glossary, but a Collec¬
tion, like Gaston’s, in which a
leadiug Subject lias groups of re¬
lated, explanatory terras, with ap¬
propriate Bible references. To get
an idea of the range of the work,
take the first section “Concerning
God.” It comprises 38 sub-divisious
of themes, as to the nature, the
glory, the patience, tlio love of
God: and, under tho first of the 38
(the nature) we count 35 descriptive
phrases with their many texts.
Taking a page at random, I count
about 50 phrases. At that rate,
the work contains over 9000 phrases.

162

NOTICES or RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

The student, has thus in convenient
shape a Manual of Bible themes,
whose signification is fully illus¬
trated by an extensive collation of
proof texts. The value of such a
work is not easily overestimated.

19. Five Maps (These have net been
received .—It seems quite unneces¬
sary to add ranch to this very
cursory review. If ray memory is
not at fault, I met with an occasion¬
al want of uniformity in names of
persons or places, as of Alexander,
Antioch. The authors themselves
will, however, he able to detect such
alight errors or slips of the pen, and
introduce any changes that may be
desirable in future editions of the
book. The volume is exceedingly
•valuable, for purposes of reference,
to the Chinese student, as similar
works in the English luuguage are

[March-

to us. By such reference facts
of many kinds are at once settled,
so far ns the best critical authority
can settle them. The manual will
be very useful to nil classes in the
native church: and some of the
Articles, as the general and parti¬
cular “ Introductions," the “ Inter¬
val between the Old and New Testa¬
ments," and the Intercourse of
the Jews with' other nations” may
be profitably intvodneed into schools
and Seiuinarias, as Primary Text
books; The “ Glossary of Scripture
Phrases” stands by itself, as a very
convenient help to preachers and
teachers in their weekly prepara¬
tions for the pulpit, the Sunday
School and the Bible Class. We
shall be very glad to see this whole
volume extensively introduced.

C.C.B.

Corea, The Hermit Nation. — I. Ancient and Mediaeval History. — IT. Political
and Social History. — III. Modern and. JRevent History. By William
Elliot Griffis. Lato of Imperial University, Tokio, Japan. Author of tho
11 Mikado's Empire. New York, Charles Scribner’s Sous, 1882.

This is a book of very great interest.
It appears at a time when Corea is
attracting great attention and very
many will be glad to get a reliable
and readable history of the country
with some account of its manners
and customs. The work is written
in a very readable style. It is
brought out in the best type of the
New York Press.—We commend it
to all our readers as a most interest¬
ing account of a peculiar people.—

It is an 8vo. vol. of 450 pages. TIio
modern and recent History, which
occupies a little over one liundred
pages, is the most interesting and
important part of the book. All
residents in the East will at onco
turn to them and devour them with
the greatest interest. Some readers
will differ from the writer on some
points but most readers will accept
his statements as, in the main, cor-
x'cet and well supported.

Tho Beginnings of History according to the Bible and the traditions of
Oriental Peoples From the Creation of man to the deluge. By Francois
Lenonnaut, Professor of Avehaeology at the National Library of France,
&c. <fcc. New York; Charles Scribner's Sons 1882.

We have given this full statement
of the title because it states fully
what is contained in tho Book.
Those who are interested to com¬
pare the Bible account of the crea¬
tion of man; the first sin; the
Cherubim and the revolving sword ;
the murder of Abel and the found¬
ing of the first city ; the Sethites
and Canaantes, the ten Antediluvian
Patriacchs tho children of God

and the Daughters of men and tho
Deluge will find these several mat¬
ters very fully considered. The
author says, “I am a Christian,
and just now, wheu my belief may
be a cause of reprobation, I am
more than ever desirous to proclaim
it emphatically. But at tho Batno
time, I am a scholar, and as sncli
I do not recognize- both a Chris¬
tian science and a science of free

NOTICES OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

163

April]

thought. I acknowledge one science
only, needing no qnaTifying epithet,
winch leaves theological ques¬
tions on one side, as foreign to its
domain, and accepts all investi¬
gators, working in good faith,
whatever their religious convictions,
as equally its servants *** But I
must add, in all sincerity, that
never yet, in the course of a career
extending over a quarter of a cen¬
tury given to study, have I come
face to face with a genuine con¬
flict between science and religion."
The full collection of the traditions
and the ancient notions which Prof.

I Lenonnant has collected from many
I recent authorities shows how widely
extended was the knowledge of the
early history of the race. He says,
at page xvi of the preface, “ The
first chapters of Genesis constitute
a “ Book of the beginnings,” in
accordance with the stories handed
down in Israel from generation to
generation, ever 'since the time of
the Patriarchs, which, in all its es¬
sential affirmations, is parallel with
the’statenaents of the books from the
banks of the Euphrates and Tigris.”
We commend the book to thoso
who are interested in such studies.

The Chrysanthemum and Phoenix. January 1S83.—Yokohama, Japan.

This is the first number of Yol. 3,
oE this mouthly. It is the first of a
new series under a New Editor,
with a new style and appearance.
We confess we prefer the old
right and cheerful dress rather
than this new one. But this new
form may suit better its enlarge¬
ment which has occurred with this
new departure. The number is,
however, destitute of any statement
of the plans or purposes connected
with the enlargement, or of the
terms of publication and various
other matters which the public gene¬
rally wish to know about periodicals.
This first number presents a vari¬
ous Table of Contents from which
its readers may select according to
their different tastes.—I. The Honse
of Knroda. Chap. 1. Tho Rival
Fiefs, By Capt, Brinkley, R.A.—II.
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution ap¬
plied to Sandwich Island Mollusks,
By John T. Gulick.—III. Higher
Education in Japan, Translated from
the German of Dr. Adolph Grotb by
C S.Eby.—IV. A History of Japanese
Ceramics, Chapter 1. By Captain
Brinkley, R.A.—V. Koeckerbacker

and the Arirna Rebellion. Bv Dr.
Geerts.—VI. Ornithological Notes.
By T. W. Blakeston.—'VII. Tho
Old Year, By Captain Brinkley,
R A.—VIII. Recent Literature, By
J. M. Dixon. Onr space will not
admit of noticing each article. The
one which will attract most readers
is Dr. Groth’s Report on Higher
Education in Japan. Dr. G. first
refers to the effect that the Chinese
Language and Literature have had
upon the Japanese people in the
past centuries. In the second part
he refers to the present effort to
introduce European Learning into
Japan. The Report will be continued.

The History of Japanese Keramics
commenced in this number promises
to be very interesting and complete.
Tbe article on the Arima Rebellion
brings before the readers a most
interesting incident in the history
of Western intercourse witli Japan.
Altogether tho number is one of
varied and very great interest. Wo
congratulate our Cotemporary on
it9 enlargement and the excellence
of this first number.

Ihc China Review. January-February, 18S3.

Tee 4th No., of the 11th Vol., of
this well established Review comes
to us with full pages of able articles,
ifr. J. Dyer Ball continues the
Scraps from Chinese Mythology,

from the notes left by his revered
Father. These serve to show how
dark the human mind is in feeling
after God without tho light of the
Christian Scriptures. Rev. Ch. ; Biton

164

NOTICKS or RECENT PUW-ICATIONS.

[Mav.-April.]

continues the History of the Fall of
the UVin Dynasty and the rise of
that of Han. The next nrticlo
furnishes evidence of tlie (lift'event
places in which Chinese is studied.
The Sin-ncn variations of Cantonese
is furnished ljy r Mr. A. Don, who is
laboring among the Chinese Tmme-
gvanls in New Zealand. Tlie object
is to show the variation of the
language spoken in the Districts of
Sin Whuinnd Sin Hung from what
is spoken in tlie Department city.
Rev. Dr. Edkins furnishes a paper
on some Chinese words. Tlie re¬
mainder of the number has Notices

1 of New Books and Notes and
i Queries. We are gratified to notice
' (lie very complimentary manner
in which tlie last volume of the
'Recorder is spoken of. We quote tlie
passage that contributors to the
Recorder may see how their papers
are regarded, and that others may
be stimulated to help to make it
even still more valuable. The
writer of the notice says : “Before
concluding this notice wo would
congratulate our contemporary on
the completion of one of the most
valuable volumes ever issued from
the Mission Press.”

life M SI ^ 5c The Geography of Judea. By Bev. It. H. Graves, M.D.,
second notice.

As a typographical error made ns
say that it was a Gcograpliyof India
\ve repeat the notice. From the
author we learn that it has been
prepared from the “ Sacred Geo¬
graphy published by the American

Tract Society. The larger work
lias illustrations on foreign paper
while the Compendium is . intended
more especially for schools. Both
books arc illustrated with colored
maps. ”

The American A ntiquariuni and Oriental Journal. Edited by Rev. S. T. Peet.

Jameson and Worse, Chicago, U.S.A. $3,00 per year.

This Journal is in the 5t.h year of j in literary and scientific circles both
publication and every year with an , in America and Europe.

enlarged circulation.

It has eight
departments with an Editor for
each department as follows; Ameri¬
can Archaeology and Ethnology,
The Editor-in-chief. 2 Oriental
Literature, and Archaeology, Prof.
John Avorys. 3 European and
Classical Artaud Language, Dr. J.
D. Butler. 4 Indian Linguistics,
A. S. Gatschet. 5 Indian (Ameri¬
can) Mythology and Folk-lore,
Rev. J. D. Dorsey. 6 Biblical
Archaeology, Rev. S. Merrill D.D.
7 Assyriology, Rev. D. D. Miller,
D.D., 8 Geological Evidences,

Prof. J. S. Newberry.

Its especial work is to furnish
information on all archaclogical
researches, explorations and dis¬
coveries, whether in American,
European or Oriental countries. It
is now well established, numbering
among its contributors some of the
bestscholavs in tlie world, and it has
ahead}' assumed a great promiucncc

The number for January 1883 has
a varied Table of Contents as follows;
Frontispiece.—I. The Mexican God¬
dess of Death.—II. On the Inter¬
pretation of the early Mythologies
of Greece and India.—HI. Indian
Migrations as evidenced by lan¬
guage.—IV. Native races of Colom¬
bia, South America.—V. Ancient
Village Architecture in America.—

VI. Description of an ancient
Aztec Village in New Mexico.—

VII. Specimen of tlie Charnels
language.—VIII. Mound Joliet.
Editorial. Recent Intelligence, Lin¬
guistic Notes. Muller on American
Language, Comanche nouns, Iro¬
quois, lievuc de Linguistique, Ac.,
&e. Ethnographic Notes, Notesfrom
Oriental Periodicals, Book Reviews.
It will be seeu that the Journal has
a wide r*ange of subjects. Those who
are interested in such researches
will find it an interesting and valu¬
able periodical.

THE

MISSIONARY JOURNAL.

Vol. XIV. MAY-JUNE, 1883. No. 3

GLIMPSES OF HAINAN.

By Bev. B. C. Henry, M.A.

FIRST PAPEfe.

TTntil very recent years the great Island of Hainan, lying just
^ -within the tropics, was an almost unknown land to the world
outside ; and the reputation it bore as the haunt of pirates and des¬
perate characters did not encourage investigation. The streams of
commerce swept past it, ships touching only when necessary at
some of the better harbors, without coming into any direct relations
with its people. When the opening of Hoi-how, the chief town on
the Island, as a treaty-port, was under discussion some ten years
or more ago, public attention was for the first time directed toward
it, and several gentlemen connected with the Chinese Customs
and the English Consular service, made the circuit of the Island in
gun-boats, landing at several places and penetrating a few miles
inland. One of them, the late Mr. Swinhoe, made a journey of
several days into the interior to the town of Ling-mun (||| Pj). The
information collected by these gentlemen gave many important
facts in regard to the facilities for commerce along the coast, but
contained nothing definite as to the natives of the country, the
character, customs and disposition of the people in the broad and
as yet unexplored interior. Within the last few years, Capt. 3 .
Calder, of the s.s. Sui-tsing, has improved the exceptional oppor¬
tunities afforded him of mingling with and observing the life and
character of the aboriginal people on the south of the Island. Not
being able to penetrate more than a few miles from the sea shore,
however, the extent of the observations has of course been limited.
It was not until last year that the outside shell was really broken
and the interior laid open. This was done in the first instance by
Mr. C. C. Jeremiassen, a Danish gentleman, who is now devoting

166

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

[May-

himself unaided to missionary work for the people of the Island.
In the months of April and Kay 1882, he made the circuit of the
Island on foot, testing the practicability of traveling unmolested
through every district and* proving the friendliness of the people.
The detailed account of this first extensive journey made by a
foreigner inland is replete with interest. In October and November
of last year it was my good fortune to make extensive journeys
through the interior of the Island, in company with this gentleman,
of which an account is subjoined.

The journey from Hongkong to Hoi-how' was made- in a
wretched little steamer, with the cabin immediately above the boilers.
All the arrangements of the ship were admirably fitted to produce
discomfort aud disgust, which were intensified by the slowness of
speed, two days and the intervening night being consumed in
traversing the two hundred and ninety miles between the two ports.
We kept out to sea far enough to escape any view of the coast. The
first land to greet the eye as we approached Hainan, were seven
small, rocky islands, one of them perforated in a peculiar way by
a great tunnel. Mu-fu point, Po-tsin pagoda and Hainan Head,
appear successively as we enter the Straits. The latter is the most
dangerous point on the route; the rocks and currents are so treach¬
erous and the channel so intricate,, that no ship will go through
in the night. These difficulties of the passage are increased by the
state of the tides which ebb and flow through the straits but once
in twenty-four hours. Long lines of white spray showed where the
breakers were dashing on the sandy beach of the peninsula jutting
out from the mainland opposite. Late in the afternoon we dropped
anchor in the open roadstead. The disadvantages of the harbor
were at once apparent. The town lies three miles distant across a
shallow bay, the inner portion showing only a broad, stretch of
slimy mud at low tide. Access to the town by boat is only possible
when the tide is well up. The inconvenience of such a state of
things in the event of the frequent arrival of steamers 1 or the ship¬
ment of large cargoes is easily imagined. Our slow passage
brought us there just in time to receive all the discomforts of low
water. A fleet of small boats that had been lying in wait around a
point hoisted sail as soon as the harbor master’s boat pulled along¬
side of us, which was to them the signal that the passengers were
free to land. We took passage in one of these boats, but did not
land until nearly midnight, five hours after leaving the ship. The
cleanliness and quiet of my friend’s cosy quarters were a great relief
after the discomfort of the voyage.

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

167

June.]

Hoi*how has one principal street along which most of the busi¬
ness is done. The town is rather straggling, having no good centre
about which to cluster; a part is enclosed by a wall and branches
extend along the streams. The ten or twelve Europeans who com¬
pose the foreign community are stowed away in Chinese houses and
are only found after persistent search. The trade of the port has
hardly realized the expectations awakened at its opening. Sugar,
oil, and live pigs are the chief exports. Cocoanut ware, rattan,
leather and other articles are shipped in smaller quantities. The
junk trade, long established at other ports along the-coast as, well as
here, still draws the main hulk of traffic in cocoannt, betelnuts, salt,
salt fish, hides, and tallow. The principal import trade is done in
opinm,which comes in legitimately through the European houses,
illegitimately through Chinese under foreign names, and by the
usual methods of smuggling. The country is flooded with it and its
baneful effects are seen far and wide. All the officials use the drug
and in some places almost the whole male population is addicted to
the opium pipe. The people as we first meet them seem darker than
those about Canton and are not burdened with much surplus
energy. The Hainanese dialect is here spoken in its purity, and
those desirous of acquiring it are advised to secure teachers with a
good King-shan, [Jj, accent. This dialect which is spoken over
the greater part of the Island is known among the natives as the
K*e-wa, § fj£, the language of the strangers. It is not, however,
allied to the Hak-ka of . the main land. It nearest affinity seems to
he to the dialects of Amoy, or of the southern part of Formosa.
We have in its native designation a constant reminder that the
early settlers were exiles, banished from their home lands to which
they ever hoped to return. They were not voluntary colonists, nor
were they all criminals and outlaws, bat the vassals of a despotic
government who, obeying the orders of their emperor, left their
homes in the more congenial region about Fuk-kieu perhaps, to
occupy and develop the sparsely peopled territory south of the sea.

The surroundings of Hoi-how are far from being unattractive.
Fine walks on either side of the bay reward the pedestrian. Old
monuments of various kinds attract the antiquarian. Game abounds
within easy distance; snipe and teal in abundance along the beach,
deer, woodcock and jungle fowl a few miles inland. Toward the
west rise the high grounds of Ta-ying-shan, ^ , covered with

groves of trees, abounding in fresh, spring water, and open to the
sea breeze throughout the year. This is the prospective location
of the residences of the European community, when negotiations

168

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

[May-

for land are brought to a successful issue: and a pleasant and
healthy situation it will be. The vegetation is not specially tropical.
Bamboo hedges with the thorny rattan intertwined, line the roads;
luxuriant creepers, with large, attractive flowers abound; a magnifi¬
cent species of Tenninalia called by the natives the p*i-p% or
guitar tree, so designated from the resemblance in shape of its
leaves to the half-pear shaped guitar which in its turn resembles
the harp of Pythagoras, from which we deduce the more euphonious
name of harp tree, is found in limited numbers. Its large, glisten¬
ing leaves and wide spread, finely proportioned branches are very
ornamental. A few cocoanut palms lift their corrugated columns
crowned with broad, stiff leaves, and clusters of green and yellow
fruit, above the lower shrubs, one group of five near the shore
being especially conspicuous.

Chief among the objects of interest in this direction is the
old Romanist cemetery which covers a large part of the most
attractive and valuable space on the hill. Hundreds of monuments
over the graves have the cross plainly, cat upon them, and the
names of Chinese converts with all the particulars of age, residence
and position given. The inscriptions on several of the Chinese
tombs as well as the size and shape of the monuments, show them to
have been men of high position in the church. Conspicuous among
the others are the tombs of three Europeans. ' One of these was
a German, as the Latin inscription shows, who died October 9th,
a.d. 1686, after being in Hainan eight years. He was evidently a
man of unusual importance, his tomb being much more elaborate
than the others. The other two seem to have been Portuguese who
died in 1681. Many of the Chinese tombs bear nearly the same
date; and the annals of the Prefecture record a plague of unusual
fatality that swept over the Island about that time. The existence
of such a cemetery, so finely located, with such numbers of tombs
of respectable people, certainly indicates that at one time the
Romanists had a large following in Hainan. The Chinese records
give little or no information in the matter, but tradition says they
were high in the favor not only of the people hut of the mandarins
as well, a Tao-tai being among their converts. It is also claimed
that they had a church in the city of King-chow-fu, which has been
converted into the present temple of longevity where the officials
now worship on new year's morn and the Emperor's birthday. Still
another place of worship is spoken of called the Temple of the
Cross, which is now used as a heathen temple. The Mission of the
Jesuits is said to have been opened in 1630, and to have been

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

169

June.]

superintended by a succession of foreign priests for half a century
or more. Their flourishing ■work was probably overthrown at the
time when the Jesuits were suppressed. It is strange however that
from being so numerous they should have almost wholly disappeared.
The number of Romanists now on the north of the Island is very
small, and of those who now adhere to the faith of Rome, few, if any,
are descendants of those who two centuries ago were so numerous >
nor have they any very definite knowledge of their predecessors
whose tombs are so conspicuous. The present head of the Romish
Mission is trying to obtain possession of the tract of land covered by
these tombs, but the Chinese officials are not willing to yield up so
fine a possession even with such self-evident proofs of former right
as these monuments show. Could the history of this old Church in
Hainan be written, it would be one of deep interest to us who, in
these later times, are seeking to lay the foundations of that universal
Church and Kingdom that shall never end. Who will unfold the
tale of their coming, their rise, their ascendancy, their day of power
and prosperity, their decline, their fall, their disappearance ? These
mute stones with their significant emblems and meager inscriptions,
giving hardly more than the bare, facts of the existence of those
whose remains they cover, tell only too little of the movement of
which they are the only visible monuments that remain. No doubt
proper records have been kept somewhere, which, if available, would
furnish us many facts of great interest. The Modern Mission,
intended no doubt as a re-opening of the old, was begun by French
Missionaries in 1849. Their reception was not friendly, the first
who arrived being so badly beaten by the people that he died from
the wounds received. A few years ago a change was made by
which Hainan was connected, ecclesiastically, with Macao and the
work there committed to the supervision of one Portuguese and
two Chinese priests. The devoted and self denying priest whom
Mr. Swinhoe visited has been sent to Lui-Chow jjfj).

Three miles west of Hoi-how is the city of King-chow-fu,
where the Chief officials of the Island reside. To reach it
is a pleasant walk in the afternoon of an autumn day. Part of the
way lies over grave-covered, barren hills, and part between evergreen
hedges. Men and women are seen riding on wheel-barrows whose
wooden wheels squeak outrageously. Many monumental arches or
rather square gateways are met with, most of them commemorative
of the virtuous lives of ladies, who, through many years of widow¬
hood, remained faithful to the memory of their betrothed or espoused
husbands, These structures are conspicuous for their ugliness; no

170

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

[May-

grace or beauty is suggested. They consist of cumbrous stone slabs
and pillars set up in the stiff est manner possible. The wall of
King-ehow-fu as we approach it from the north has a picturesque
effect covered aa it is with a mass of ferns, figs and various creepers.
The ficus Hanceana spread in a most prolific growth over the
buttresses, the pale green fruit hanging like numberless pendants
over the side. Beside the government buildings, there is not much
to note within the wall. Many open spaces covered with ponds,
gardens and groves of bamboo show that the population is not
pressed for room. Outside the West gate is a busy mart where
most of the business is done. Here the trade in cocoannt ware
centres. The manufacture of cups, bowls, tea services and other
articles from the shell of the cocoanut is an industry peculiar to
this part of the Island. Some of the more delicate specimens show
great skill in carving and silvering. The shops and houses are all
very low, it being necessary even for a short man to stoop under
the eaves as he enters the door. Protection against the typhoons,
for which the Island is noted, is one reason given for this mode of
construction. In the city and along the road thither are many
indications of a past prosperity which the present does not equal.
There is a woful lack of enterprise apparent; a stupor caused by
opium, perhaps, which paralyses all their energies.

Our preparations for an extended journey through the interior
being completed, we set out with our little caravan toward the east.
Sedan chairs are dispensed with as an expensive luxury and an
impediment to the proper study of the country. A few minutes
after starting we pass some curious salt works where troughs of
sand receive the sea-water from which the salt is made. After
successive strainings through the sand it is boiled in sheds erected
for the purpose and salt of a good color and saline quality produced.
We cross a little high-tide bay in a ferry boat. Flocks of snipe fly up
as we approach the shore and four or five cranes of great size and
attractive plumage rise over our heads. A grove of cacti on the
farther side affords a fair protection from the sun to people waiting
for the boat. The banks and road-side fields are quite aglow
with the reddish-purple periwinkle which seems indigenous here.
Ascending to a higher level we catch the fine sea breeze and
proceed with comfort to the first halting place in front of a temple
with two grand trees of the genus Tenninalia in the foreground.
The road thence leads for a time in a winding course through
straggling villages with bamboo groves about them which shut out
all views of the surrounding country. At one of these villages we

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

171

June.]

stop for tiffin and in the dingy little room where the table is set
with refreshments, we prepare to make the best of it. When all is
ready for us to partake, a sedan chair coming from the opposite
direction stops in front of the inn; a well dressed Chinaman gets
out, enters the room where we are sitting, takes his position on the
couch at one side and without a word of apology prepares to smoke
his opium. A farmer on the opposite side who had been deterred
by our presence, encouraged by the man in the long tunic, prepares
his pipe and before we are aware of it the sickening fumes of opium
are poured upon us from either'side. We retreat to the open air
and finish our tiffin under a wretched straw awning, where the
wind blows the black particles of decayed straw in showers upon us
as we eat. We meet many coolies with salt fish, betelnuts, sucking
pigs and other products of the Island j hut are most interested in
two men who have stopped on the outskirts of the village. They
carry large round baskets with several sections one above the other
each section divided into eight or ten small compartments, with
little doors opening on the outside. The chirping of the captives
tells us that a well stocked aviary is passing by. They are mostly
brown birds, with a lively, pleasant note, which abound in the
interior, and these men, after weeks of work among the hills and
mountains inland, are bringing out their one or two hundred birds
which find a ready market in Hoi-how. We cross a sandy plain with
fields of sweet potatoes, peanuts and sugar cane on either side and
come to a little gulch with peculiar clay sides, worn into odd shapes
by the action of water at the time of heavy rains. A short distance
thence we reach a rocky hill covered with great black boulders of
volcanic origin, from which we descend into a swampy vale, crossed
by a good stone bridge, which intersects a lotus pond of unusual
dimensions. Mounting the low hill on the farther side we wind
through masses of black, rough rocks like scoria, some of it built
into walls to enclose the fields and gardens and some used as the
material for constructing the low dungeon-like houses of the
villages. Under some fine banyans we stop to rest and gather the
villagers about us. Everybody is chewing sugar cane. The absence
of tea, the usual beverage on the mainland, is quickly remarked
and severely felt by our Canton coolies. Its substitutes are spring
water, congee water and the juicy sugar cane. We choose the first
being careful to filter it when any doubts of its purity arise. The
Chinese choose the other two, usually beginning with the congee
water and continuing indefinitely at the sugar cane. A few minutes
conversation reveals the fact that the people of this and many of

172

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

[May-

the surrounding villages speak a peculiar Loi (Hainanese pronuncia¬
tion) dialect. The origin of this patois is one of the interesting
questions that will come up for solution as the history of the people
is studied more thoroughly. The data at present possessed are too
meagre to furnish any very definite theory; this much, however, is
known, that it is the speech of a particular section of the people,
who are evidently distinct from the Chinese and are also quite
different from the aborigines in the centre and south of the Island.
Their dress is somewhat like the Chinese, but in stature, features
and speech they are very unlike them. They are full Chinese sub¬
jects, mingle freely in business, intermarry with the Hainanese, eat
the same food, live in the same kind of houses, and seem identical
with them in many respects yet they are certainly distinct. The per¬
sistence with which they hold to their peculiar dialect is remarkable.
Surrounded on every side by Chinese, in constant intercourse with
them in many ways, the great majority of them speak only their
native Loi ; while the tribes of aborigines in the interior^ with much
less reason we should think, speak the Hainanese to a great extent.
The most plausible theory as to the origin of these people is that
they are the descendants of the Miao-tsz, brought ages ago from
the highlands of Kwangtung aud Kwangsi to act as mediators
between the Chinese and the wild Les of the interior. A mixture
of races has occurred, Chinese blood being added in some measure,
and a people differing from others on the Island is the result. The
name Loi, by which they are everywhere known, would indicate that
they must have, in some way, come into very close union with the
aborigines of the Island. They may have absorbed one tribe of the
original Les, and adopted their language or the adoption of the
language may have been a conciliatory measure. At present they are
quite distinct in physique, language and customs from any of the
Le tribes further south. These tribes, however, differ very much
among themselves so that too much may be made of this dissimi¬
larity. Whether they resemble sufficiently any of the tribes of the
Miao-tsz on the main land to warrant the belief in a common origin
or not, cannot now be determined. There is a colony of these Lois,
in Ko-chow, (]§£ jtj) in the district of Shek-shing j^) who retain
their peculiar speech, and, if report can be believed, are not on the
most friendly terms with the surrounding population. They are
probably an offshoot from these on the north of Hainan. Our
interest had been awakened by previous accounts of these people
and as they surrounded us I set to work to collect a vocabulary.
The list of words and their approximate sounds secured, aud

GLIHTSES OF GAIN AN.

173

June.]

subsequently increased, may be the nucleus of something useful in
the future but is too' fragmentary as yet to servo any scientific
purpose.

As to the physical features of the north of the Island the chief
interest is in its geological formation. The rocks, which cover the
surface so thickly are evidently of volcanic origin, They are hard
and black, in many places filled with cavities caused by bubbles of
air in the molten mass from which they came. The source of this
volcanic matter was probably in the “ Hummocks,” two prominent
hills to the left of us. Those who have visited them say there is
evidence of their being the craters of extinct volcanoes, but the
history of the Island records no eruption so that this immense
supply of igneous rocks must have been thrown out from the bosom
of these silent hills in prehistoric times. The people have recognized
the generous provision of nature and used these rocks in the con¬
struction of their houses, which have a massive but not very cheer¬
ful aspect. The thick dark walls and low roofs may suggest much
solid comfort, especially in the prospect of frequent typhoons, but
are not very pleasing to the eye. As we continue our journey the
road leads between large fields of sugar cane with peanuts inter¬
spersed. Everywhere the people are chewing sugar cane with the
utmost energy, the roads, streets and inn yards being covered with
the refuse. Bevies of women and girls are digging up peanuts in
the fields and start like frightened birds at our appearance. As
evening draws on they gather up their-baskets and hooks and wend
their way to the villages, their spirits unsubdued by the long day’s
work, if we may judge from the constant chatter and laughing they
keep up, and the way they chase each other over the newly up¬
turned fields. They seem a healthy, happy set which is more than
can be said of the men, enchained as they are by the opium habit.
Our first day’s march, in which we travel seventeen miles, ends at
the village of Lung-slian, beside which a little stream, spanned by
a stone bridge, finds its way down to the sea. We are welcomed
by the more respectable citizens among whom appears a venerable
village elder, an octogenarian, who has never seen any of our kind
before. The country we have traversed is well cultivated, the soil
is good and the various crops yield a fair increase. The villages
are numerous and substantial and the people most friendly and
civil, none of the insulting epithets so common on the main land
being heard. It is unnecessary to dwell upon the discomforts or
otherwise of the dark and dingy inn where the first night was
spent, It was neither better nor worse than many of its kind

174 glimpses op Hainan. [May-

which are the only accommodations afforded to travelers through
the Island. Although an early hour was set for starting in the
morning, a large proportion of the village gathered to see us off.
Our attention was called to two oxen which they said had been
slain for us. This was a compliment altogether too overwhelming.
We had been previously informed of the beef-eating proclivities
of the Hainanese and soon learned that to supply the wants of the
market town and six adjacent villages several oxen were killed
daily. A pleasant walk of two miles past several prosperous vill¬
ages, brought us to an inlet from the sea running up to the
district city of Ching-mai, j§. The air was fresh and whole¬
some ; flocks of birds darted in and out of the hedges; groups of
large white storks were flying over the fields; scores of magpies
stalked over the mounds so tame that they would not move until we
were within a few feet of them. Taking passage in a small boat
we sailed comfortably up the stream for three miles to our destina¬
tion. On our right a salt marsh stretched for some distance toward
a line of low bluffs, where villages were set with groups of palm
trees about them. A bridal procession was crossing the inlet to one
of these villages; as they landed the high tide made it necessary for
them to wade several rods along the submerged path; the bride’s
chair, swaying uncomfortably as the coolies slipped on the uncertain
way, threatened the fair one so carefully concealed behind the
curtains with an involuntary bath. Landing at the stone jetty we
look in vain for the town or any sign of traffic. Ascending the
bluff by the path which is almost choked in places by the profusion
of vines and shrubs, we come to a square tower and soon after enter
the west gate of this quaint, little, old city. It is scarcely a mile in
circumference, oval in shape, with a most dilapidated wall, pierced
by three gates east, west and south. Not more than half the space
inside is occupied by the houses, some of the open portions being
covered with a perfect jungle. Nature has trimuplied over man and
uses the broken walls and. ruined bouses to support her luxuriant
flora; and as if grateful for the help which these ruins give to the
innumerable vines that need support, she has covered the whole
mass with a wonderful garment of flowering vines some robust, with
large, gorgeous flowers, others of finer texture with delicate blossoms
to correspond. Along the north wall is a long barrier of thorny
shrubs, more difficult to pass than the best laid brick and mortar.
Toward the east a variety of ThunbergiarS and Convolvuli cover the
wall near the examination hall. One section is completely concealed
for several rods by glistening Rhaphidopheras whose strong and

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

175

June.]

sinuous growth extends over supports of lower shrubs as well
as the battlements of the wall and whose broad and deeply
pinnate leaves, spread out like a great cool awning. Not far from
these the Night-blooming Cereus spreads its stiff joints in all
the glory of its hundreds of gergeous flowers, some half decayed,
others in bud ready to burst in the evening, while clematis,
rattan and a vine with a bright fruit, in color and shape like
an orange, covered with thorns hang thickly over the wall and
town above the east gate a weed-like creeper with yellow flowers
covers the whole eastern section of the southern wall. Inside and
out the town is a wilderness of luxuriant vegetation. Palms and
papayas rise conspicuously above the vines and red peppers grow¬
ing wild in great abundance, vigorous plants six and eight feet
high, fill the open spaces among the trees to the east. On the
northern wall is a small structure called the “New Sea-view
Tower,” from which the surrounding country may be seen to
great advantage; a few miles distant to the north stretches the
sea; to the south-east rise the Hummocks, and four miles south¬
west lies a line of low hills called the ct Variegated Spring Ridge.”
All the rest is a dull, slightly rolling plain like a wold or prairie.
For miles to the south and west little or no sign of cultivation
appears. The rolling plain is covered over with long grass and
low shrubs. The country seems capable of cultivation but the people
or the enterprise are lacking. The inhabitants of the town treated
us with civil indifference. The whole inn was placed at our disposal
so that we were comparatively comfortable. The magistrate ignored
our presence, and most of the men seemed more devoted to their
opium pipes than to anything else. Its ravages were evident on
every side.' Our attention was directed to a notice posted up in a
prominent place to the effect that in passing to and fro through the
streets men and women must be careful to keep apart. A rather
sluggish stream, coming from the direction of the Hummocks, flows
along the south side of the town. It is spanned by two bridges, tho
lower one of which is rather a fine structure, built just above a fall
in the stream over which the water pours abruptly a distance of
fifty or sixty feet. Near the end of the bridge is a remarkable stone
pagoda almost conical in shape, broad at. the base but tapering
rapidly to a point. Our. course as we leave Ching-mai is over this
bridge toward the south-west across some low hills of heavy clay
which the slight rain has rendered very slippery. Flowering
creepers in great abundance festoon the hedges along our path, cons¬
picuous amoDg them being a delicate white species of Thunbergia,

176 olimpses op Hainan. [May-

with leaves of a velvety texture. Two miles of rather hard walking'
bring us to “Thunder” station, ^ Q Jj|j, where refreshments are
laid out to tempt us, but we press on another two miles to the
market of ff Many Peaks,” iff , where a few hours are spent.
The name is peculiar and seems to have been given to mark the
absonce of peaks rather than their presence. The hill of Variegated
Spring, H ^ HI, is passed to the left, fine views of the sea greet
us on the right, a deep bay running inland at this point. We find
excellent water, clear and sweet, in this toTfn. The homes are all
built of the black rock referred to above, low roofed and very solid
looking. Market is held on alternate days but little else than salt
fish and vegetables is sold. A few tens of books were readily
disposed of. Soon after leaving this town we come to a small
stream flowing in a deep channel down to the estuary at the foot of
the hills, and spanned by a substantial bridge. Several large
trees spread a delightful shade under which a dozen or more
travelers are resting while the wind, strong and fresh from the sea,
blows health with every breath. A queer little road-side inn stands
at the end of the bridge. Its mud walls and straw roof scarcely
suffico to keep out the rain. Straw beds, soft boiled rice and congee
water are prepared for the rest and refreshment of travelers. Wo
continue our journey another hour over the rolling plain to the
u Burnt Station, ” >X iS It. where we take our noonday rest on the
soft green grass under a fine old tree. A little straw thatched
cottage is scarcely an apology for the inn supposed to exist. To
the right opens a natural lane bordered by high hedges of bamboo
and other plants. It stretches away like an avenue leading to a
park and is gay -with a variety of floral decorations. Some cocoanut
palms furnish us with half-ripe fruit from which we take our first
draught of the uew milk fresh from the shell. The young fruit
whose outer husk is of a golden yellow, yields a good quart of the
liquid which we are eager to taste, but instead of the nectar we
had anticipated we find an acid juice' raw and flavorless, which,
after the addition of a little sugar, becomes mildly pleasant. Wo
are made aware of the fact that this is not the season to luxuriate
in cocoanut milk, which pleasure is reserved for the months of
spring and early summer, when the beverage is said to be truly
delightful. Our way soon leads us to a bridgeless stream where the
choice of wading or being ferried over on the backs of our coolies
is presented to us; we choose the latter and are soon on the
elevated, undulating plain again. The country is monotonous but
not unattractive; the highest hills we cross do not rise more than

GLIMPSBS OP BAIKAL.

177

June.]

one or at most two hundred feet above the sea level. There are
few trees to be seen, only rank wild grass and insignificant shrubs
which bend before the wind like the waves of the sea. It seems an
ideal grazing country capable of supporting great numbers of sheep
or larger cattle, but only a few small herds are seen. The presence
of some concealed from sight is indicated by the monotonous clock¬
ing of wooden bells. We saw no game although the place seemed
admirably fitted to afford convenient covert. This facility for con¬
cealment may account for our seeing nothing in a section where
game was supposed to abound. Here and there clumps of cocoanut
palms are seen towering in fine proportions above all else. They
are the insignia of the Island, its chief and most conspicuous pro¬
duct, its banner scarcely ever out of sight waving free and proudly
over all. Along the water courses the caryoto palm rises stiff and
stately with its broad and much frayed leaves. Sumac, rattan,
honey suckle, callicarpa and other familiar plants intermingled with
some new and striking are ones, abound. At this point we see the
first of the buffalo carts much used on the Island, great clumsy
things with two immense, solid wooden wheels, which cut deep
tracks in the soil. They are usually drawn by water buffaloes
hitched singly or tandem, and each cart has a carrying capacity
of about half a ton. As we approach the market of the Deeply
Wooded Hills, , the most extensive groves yet seen appear
toward the south. A nearer view shows them to be the woodlands
encircling several large villages in close connection with the mar¬
ket, making the name of the place more than a mere fancy. The
approach to Sim-toa (Hainanese pronunciation) is more attractive
than the town itself. A delightful fragrance from some flowering
plants, which, unfortunately, we could not find, filled the air as we
drew near. Two fines trees of the fig family on either side of the
road, with good stone seats underneath, afforded a convenient rest¬
ing place. A fringe of trees along an open field, some with leaves
of a silvery under surface tossed by the wind so that silver gleams
flashed through the green, and clusters of buff-colored flowers,
formed an attractive feature in the landscape. The town consists
of one long street running east and west, with a cross street running
south. Quantities of sucking pigs are reared here, and sent to Hoi-
how, the little fellows, four or five catties weight, bringing three
hundred cash. each. Secured in loosely woven bamboo pockets
they are packed four or five together, end-wise with their noses up
in the strong round bamboo baskets peculiar to this district. We
put up at the best inn in the town. As far as our observation goes,

178

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

[May-

all the inn-keepers in Hainan are women. This may be an indica¬
tion of their independence, another proof of which is the fact that
many of the women carry the money purse from which they
supply their husbands with spending money. I frequently noticed
that in buying a book or a little medicine or some article from
a passing seller, the husband had to apply to the wife for the
cash, and what was more significant did not always get it. Our
hostess at this place was very sharp and active. She took no rest
from morning till night and tried to make others follow the same
rule. She was a perfect termagant, lashing with her never silent
tongne all who came near. She had a husband, a pitiful handful
of wizened humanity, who did nothing but smoke opium and eat
the food his wife prepared in ample quantities for him, meekly
bending to the storms of abuse which experience had told him were
inevitable. No chance of increasing her hoard of cash escaped her.
One of our Canton coolies objected to the salt-boiled rice and pro¬
ceeded to cook his own which brought on a fearful outburst of
wrath at the prospect of losing a few cash. Her son, a boy
of eighteen, but stunted by ill treatment until he was scarcely
larger than a child of eight, was sent to bring an extra lamp for onr
room which he brought but soon come back weeping with the
information that his mother would kill him if we did not return the
lamp, no such extravagance being allowed in the establishment.
The people in this town speak mostly the Loi dialect, but under¬
stand Hainanese and a few of them Cantonese, which was a great
comfort to me. Books were taken in almost every house and shop,
and Beveral schools showed that education was not altogether
neglected; but the opium dens were more numerous than the schools
and the habit of smoking seemed almost universal among the men.

Our course from this point continued in a south-west direction
over a rolling country composed of red clay soil. Groves of trees
appeared on either side breaking the monotony of the plain. We
followed the ox-cart road meeting a number of the clumsy vehicles
with tandems of the equally clumsy water-oxen. One-and-a-half
miles out from the “deeply wooded hills” we passed the boundary
of the Ching-mai, and Lam-ko, £» Jfj, districts marked by

stone pillars, and shortly after .stopped to rest in a peculiar arbor
made of the trunks of cactus plants, straw thatched, with the
crooked bodies of some cactus trees for seats. All. the roads are
lined with the cactus which makes an excellent hedge, but grows so
fast that it soon chokes the way unless it is constantly trimmed.
Waste land is so plentiful here, that rather than take the trouble to

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

179

June.]

trim the cactus hedges, and repair the old road, the people strike
out into new ones as soon as the old become impassable. After
several miles travel, we come to the little market town of Shiin-fco
tr#. where an excellent inn affords us clean and comfortable
quarters free from noise, with a private entrance in the rear. The
massive wood-work of these houses is noteworthy. No pine dr any
soft wood is available on the Island. So that the wood-work of the
houses is of solid hard wood, much of it well dressed and polished.
It gives a rich appearance to the room to see the hard-wood pillars,
the doors with broad panels of polished teak, the chairs, table and
beds of materials which only wealth can secure on the main land.
The number of inns and the accommodations they afford shows that
the aggregate of travel through the year is great. In this little
town are a dozen inns or more. The people all speak Loi and have
a different cast of features from those in the other towns passed
through. They are very dark in complexion, with deep-set eyes
and a very un-chinese look. Back of the town is a small lakelet and
on a grassy islet rising on the spongy soil in the midst of it were
several fine cranes, of a silver-grey hue, unlike aby seen before.
As we continue our journey, the land improves. Good roads,
make comfortable walking and people in the fields show that the
land is being utilized. As a picture of rural peace and harmony we
see a boy plowing with several magpies following close at his heels,
and crows flying leisurely about without fear of being molested.
Busy hands are digging up the peanuts and rows of ox-carts are
waiting to receive and carry them to the villages. The transition
from these pleasant scenes to the wretched little town of Sam-yen
where we breakfast is not the most agreeable. We leave it as soon
as possible and continue our way still over rolling country, now
more thickly studded with villages. Signs of a larger population
and increased cultivation of the soil appear on every hand as we
approach the town of Ne-pe, ^5 (Hainanese pronunciation).
To the north-east lies a fine plain covered with rice just ready
for the sickle; many reapers are at work with scores of snow-
white egrets following them to. pick up the grain that falls.
Beyond Ne-pe the soil is sandy and mostly given up to the
cultivation of rice. A rich plain eight or ten miles long and
four miles wide is covered with golden grain. Scores of reapers
are busy gathering in the harvest; buffalo carts are waiting
to carry off the grain; paddy birds, crows and magpies eagerly follow
to share in the ample harvest, and great flocks of ducks riot in the
flooded fields. In several places the path is submerged, giving us

180 GLIMPSES OF HAINAN. [May-

some inconvenience in avoiding the overflowing water. For some
time our eyes have been watching the groves of trees with isolated
palms looming up that mark the situation of the city of Lam-ko,
Eg We approach it from the east through a village, passing
under a large monumental gateway covered with lichen which
obscures the inscriptions and soon after under a smaller one of
similar contraction. A river flows along the south and east sides
of the city, the muddy water rushing in a swift current to the sea.
A few miles distant a little octagonal pagoda stands at the end of a
good stone bridge over which we pass to the east gate of the city.
The main street runs from the east to the west gate; the city is oval
in shape and somewhat larger than Ching-mai, Four gates in

the wall, which are never shut, might indicate a remarkably peace¬
ful state of affairs, were it not that the condition of the walls renders
the closing of the gates a work of supererogation. No good houses
appear; even the magistrate’s residence is in a very dilapidated state.
A gaudy Confucian temple, with college attached, in the centre
of the town attracts attention. It has been constructed with great
care and a little efficient superintendence would keep it in good
repair. The attractions of the opium pipe overcome all other claims
with those in charg-e and the fine building is suffering.for want of
care. Within the west gate is a large open space occupied, in part,
by rice fields. Lam-ko, is the ceutre of a rich grain district,

the rice lands stretching for miles to the north-east and south. To
the west the land rises gradually to a prominent hill,, and as soon
as a certain level is reached the red clay reappears. On our way to
this hill, called the Ko-shan-ling, rftfc ill gt, we passed a noisy com¬
pany holding some ceremonies in a mat shed, preparatory to plow¬
ing the field, to secure a prosperous season. Along the base of the
hill and up its sides are several villages, closely encircled by bamboo
groves. The hill is on a point jutting out into the sea, and from the
top which is perhaps six or seven hundred feet above the sea, the
whole surrounding country is laid before the eye. The strong
breeze from the sea made it difficult for us to stand. A peculiar
temple stands on the highest point of the hill nearest the sea. It is
built entirely, roof and all, of the loose stones scattered on the hill¬
top, and is regarded as an object of great interest by the people.
From this point the outline of the coast toward Tan-chow is- seen;
a deep inlet on the south runs up from the sea. Toward the south¬
east a line of hills appears, the outlying spurs of the higher ranges
inland. Near the top of the hill are springs of good water and a
small pond where the cattle from the villages come to drink and the

GLIltrSEB or HAINAX.

181

Jane.]

women to wash clothes. On onr return from the hill an invitation to
visit the magistrate was awaiting us. Ee had heard of our expedi-
tion and immediately inquired if the object of our visit to the hill
was to settlo the “ fung-shui” of the place. He told us that not
long before several foreigners had landed in a boat, gone to the top
of the hill and made observations of some kind. They were probably
from some gun-boat engaged in surveying the coast and their
object was, no doubt, to fix the position of this point for use in the
cliavts. Much similar work has been done of late years to the great
benefit of all who travel along the coast. It is remarkable that
with all the commerce that has passed up and down the coast in tho
last half century, the actual position of Hai-nan had not been
determined until a few year ago. The position given in the charts
was not less than twelve miles in error. This has now been cor¬
rected and accurate surveys of the whole coast aro being gradually
obtained. The Lam-ko Magistrate was a pleasant old gentleman
from Kiang-soo province. He looked upon his position as a kind of
exile but was certainly more fortunate. than some of his colleagues
in the smaller districts ofKing-chow-fu. The people in the town
were very friendly; many of them spoke Cantonese, and a good
number of books were disposed of. Several villages to the west and
east were visited in one of which I was taken to a school where the
discipline was such that my entrance made no break in the routine
of study; after one glance the boys went on with their lessons as
though no one were present. In this district are found the Largest
numbers of that peculiar people who speak the Loi dialect; most of
the villages are occupied by them and their patois is often called
the Lam-ko dialect ^|£). Few of them aro to be met with
outside of Lam-ko and Ching-mai, districts. In enumerating

tho various tribes of the Les on the Island they are frequently
spoken of as the Pun-ti Les, literally native Les, ptm-ti however
being the usual designation of the Chinese in the south of China.
In dress they differ slightly from the Chinese, the outer tunic
being shorter and the shoes of a different pattern. The women
wear peculiar earrings, large brass hooks, in shape.like staples, and
others like great hoops with long pointed heads extending above
the lobe of the ear.

Leaving Lam-ko we turn our backs upon the sea and direct
our course south-east toward the centre of the Island. We follow
the general direction of the river that flows down from the hills
crossing it several times. For the first four miles the way leads
over a level plain, the road submerged in places, rice being the

182 GLIMPSES OP HAINAN. [May-

chief production of the land. On little patches of higher ground,
mostly covered with graves, small herds of cattle are feeding,
watch over them being kept by boys who sit behind the hedges
almost lost in the great straw coats that protect them from the
fresh wind blowing. A well dressed man riding on a water buffalo
drew our attention as something new. Passing near a large village
to the east, with twenty-five palms to mark its location, we come
suddenly upon the market town of Mai-ts, H (Hainanese pro¬
nunciation), the one long street filled with busy throngs, salt fish
and vegetables being the principal articles for sale. We become at
once the centre of attraction, a dense crowd gathering, each one
eager to catch a glimpse of so unusual a spectacle, making it diffi¬
cult for us to proceed. My friend found an old. acquaintance whom
be had relieved on his previous journey and under his direction we
were soon conducted to a comfortable lodging place. The people
were eager for books and medicines which we supplied as quickly
and as fully as possible. Our intention was to leave early the next
day, but the people returning from the market had spread the news
of our arrival and the fame of my friend's medical skill through the
villages far and near, so that on the following morning our doors
were besieged by an eager and impatient throng, gentry and com¬
mon people, scholars and laborers all come together, soine in chairs,
some on horses, until the street was filled with their equipages.
Cards iu great numbers with most polite and flattering requests
for attendance, requests in which whole villages united signed by
the elders, were showered upon the modest Doctor. It was impossi¬
ble to attend to them all at once and almost equally difficult to
follow the exact order in which the requests were presented. We
gave up the day to them, locked the inner door and set a guard,
admitting only a few at a time. Over one hundred were treated
and prescribed for and many sent away for whom nothing could be
done. The readiness with which they took the foreigner's medicino
and submitted to operations was surprising. The number of
villages represented shows the country to be very populous and tho
appearance of the people indicated a good degree of prosperity.
Nearly all of them spake Loi, an interpreter being necessary when
conversing with them. We received only respect, friendliness and
pressing invitations to remain among them. We were obliged to
decline all such invitations and, in spite of their entreaties, left
for Ma-ting, five miles distant where we hoped to spend a

quiet Sabbath. The way thither is through a level country with
some low bluffs along the river. We crossed the stream in little

GLIMPSES- OP HAINAN.

183

June.]

punts and, ascending bite farther bank, passed through an attractive
grove of young trees. Deputations from villages along the way
met us begging for the Doctor’s attendance, often in incurable
cases. Towns and hamlets on every side surrounded by fine groves
of bamboos, banyans, jack-fruit and other attractive trees gave
a pleasing aspect to the landscape. It was nearly dark when we
reached our stopping place and some difficulty was encountered in
securing a suitable inn. We were taken to several which were
too small hut finally found one which had room enough but was
rather too public. It was constructed in the same manner as most
of the other houses in the town, of small bamboos placed upright
and interlaced at intervals with thongs of the same material,
the whole plastered over with red clay and covered with a
straw roof. When all the doors were shut numberless openings
appeared on every side, through which curious eyes were peer¬
ing to see the first white men who had ever visited their town.
Unpleasant quarters, the heat of the sun, and crowds of curious
people, especially hoys, combined to make Sunday au uncomfortable
day. On Monday the market was held and thousands of people
thronged the little town, bringing all manner of produce for sale,
sweet potatoes and yams in abundance, a variety of vegetables,
grain, sucking pigs, small bamboos for building houses, tobacco,
salt-beef, and salt-fish. There was very little pork and no fruit
except papayas. The quantity of beef consumed is astonishing to
one who thinks of the Chinese mainly as a pork-fed people.
An early walk through the town showed six fine beeves already
slaughtered. The meat is of a superior quality [and very cheap.
Most of those killed are young cattle in fine condition as tko tallow
is one of the chief sources of profit. This with the hides, horns and
bones, the latter to be used as a fertilizer, are more important
than the flesh. The scarcity of pork for sale is due in a measure
to the constant supply of beef which the procuring of hides and
tallow throws on the market at cheaper rates but is mainly due
to the great [export trade in live pigs which has sprung up in
late years making it a more profitable business to rear them and
send them to Hoi-how for shipment to Hongkong than to consume
them at home. The people, though evidently not very literary,
took the books offered for sale very readily. The use of a small
temple was secured and the medical work carried on with great
enthusiasm. The eagerness of the people for the Doctor’s help
was fully equal to that at Mai-ts, and the number of those treated
was greater by one-half. The Loi being the prevailing dialect an

184 GLIMPSES OF HAINAN. [Mav-

interpreter was needed most of the time, an intelligent young
man volunteering his services for this purpose. Among those
who came was a family of very respectable people who spoke
Cantonese. This aroused my curiosity and upon inquiry I found
them to be from the town of P^n-she (^J ten miles south
where a colony of Ko-cliow (jfjj JJj) people settled nearly two
hundred years ago. The place now contains about five thousand
people who have preserved the language and customs of their
fore-fathers intact. Their speech is almost pure Cantonese. This
is another proof of how these different elements of the population,
while coming into constant contact with each other, preserve
their own identity, each remaining a distinct people, and confirms
the theory that the Loi speaking people, who hold so rigidly to
their peculiar dialect, are quite distinct in origin from any of the
other inhabitants of the Island. An early hour was fixed for start¬
ing next day, and as we stepped out of the inn by the light of the
morning moon we saw three men who had come twenty miles to
see the Doctor. They had missed the way and traveled all night
and were now waiting at the door of the inn for his appearance.
Similar instances occurred in the following days in one case a father
carrying his child forty miles in a basket in hope of getting relief.
At 4 a.m. we were fully under way, the bright moon over head
shedding abundance of light. A heavy dew was falling which soon
turned into a soaking mist that obscured the rising sun for seyeral
hours. My friend’s Chinese assistant amused ns by hoisting an
umbrella to avoid moon-stroke we said at first, but the wisdom of
his course was soon apparent as our clothes began to hang damp
and heavy about us. Three miles out we crossed a brook and soon
after the river and its chief tributary, which run near together and
unite a short distance below. A pleasant walk of ten miles through
a country where a good harvest was in process of being gathered
in brought us at 8 a.m. to the little market town of Han-lang,
i\i (Loi pronunciation) where we waited impatiently the
preparations for breakfast. The town has but one street with
broad sheds in front of the shops on either side and a narrow open
path in the middle. All the people speak the Loi dialect. Several
large beeves were slaughtered aud we can testify as!to the excellent
quality of the meat. Rolls of strong, white cotton cloth woven in
the villages; a very fragrant kind of tobacco ; beans, rice, papayas
and immense bamboo baskets four and five feet high for storing
rice, were offered for sale. Leaving the town at noon we caught
the welcome sight of hills, much higher than any yet seen. Some

GLIMPSES OF HAINAN.

185

Juno.]

of them covered with trees to tlieir tops. Behind these hills roso
mountain ranges, of varying height. One conspicuous peak, isolated
from, the others, roso like a great dome to the south, a prominent
land-mark by which to direct our course. Passing rapidly the rich
rice lands; with the reapers, ox-carts, ducks and wild fowl all help¬
ing to gather in the harvest, wo came to the first low range of hills.
It' is thickly covered with vegetation, the road being completely
arched over in places, by the canopy of trees interlaced with
flowering vines. Wild camellias and other flowering shrubs adorned
the hedges’; new varieties of ornamental creepers appeared in great
abundance; a white convolvulus with a profusion of blossoms,
another kind with hairy leaves and calix and pinkish-purple flowers,
others bell-shaped, creamy white with a rich purple centro set
among glossy leaves with a white velvety under surface. Wooded
hills with villages set against them appear descending this line of
hills. Another small, rice plain is crossed before Ave stop to rest on
the slope above a little straw lmt under a grove of graceful liquid
amber trees which now begin to appear in abundance. A few
miles more and we ascend another range somewliat higher than
the last. Cattle are grazing on the slopes; cultivated fields stretch
along the foot and to our right, as we near the summit, the finest
woodland scene we have yet met greets us. Tall trees in magnifi¬
cent proportions rise over the smaller growth, many of them new to
us but none the less attractive. From the summit of the ridge we
get the first good vieAv of the hill-country Ave are about to enter
and the prospect is charming. Such variety of form and pleasing
combination of hill and plain ivas not suspected as avc journeyed
over the lowlands and we arc ready to enjoy it with a keener relish,
if possible, because of the contrast Avith the tame and quiet districts
left behind. Along the ridge on Avhich avg stand are the remains
of fortifications thrown up by the Hak-ka insurgents in the rebellion
a few years ago Avhen they made a successful stand against the
Lam-ko troops. This Hak-ka Avar was a striking, Ave might almost
say characteristic, episode in the history of the Island. These
earth-works are witness of their turbulent but courageous spirit.
The hands that raised them however are scattered in exile or
moulder Avith the soil. Deferring particulars of the Hak-ka occu¬
pancy of the Island until we have seen more of this district, we
proceed down the gentle slope, one-and-a-half miles to the town
of Wo-she (fn £) where, for the present, avq take leavo of tho
reader.

186

THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. [May-

THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE.

Br Rev. Arthur H. Smith.

(Continued from page 93-1
VI.—PONS AND OTHER LINGUISTIC DIVERSIONS.

rjlHE peculiar structure of the written character, and the homopli-
■*“ onous nature of the Chinese language, render every variety
of play both upon the shapes of characters and upon their meaning,
not only easy but inevitable. The great use which is made of such
play by the Chinese themselves, may justify a somewhat extended
illustration of their widely varying qualities. In order to accomplish
this end, it will be necessary to make little excursions here and there,
into regions which do not pertain exclusively to f Proverbs and
Common Sayings/ Yet, with the Reader’s permission, will we
imitate the sagacious Donkey on the broad highway, who, as the
saying goes, takes now a nibble on this side, and now a bite on that,

still all the while making a
general, though somewhat deliberate, progress toward his goal. Or,
if this similitude please tlieo not let us copy the Irishman on a
holiday < spree 5 with his shillalah, whose simple creed was whenever
he saw a head, to hit it.

There are, in the first place, what, among a people so practical
and sober as the Chinese, we should least have expected, Acted Puns
or Charades.

Thus in some localities it is customary, upon moving into a
new dwelling, that the first articles which are introduced, shall be a
vase (jjg P'iiig), which is placed upon a table, (fjs An), accompanied
by the ornament called Ju-i (£q or As-you-wish, made of jade or
wood and shaped like a flattened letter S. This singular, and to an
Occidental perfectly incomprehensible proceeding, is a Chineso
charade or acted pun, upon the familiar expression: PHnganju i,
In plain words the meaning is; ‘ May you in your new
home enjoy Peace and Tranquility, 5 and ( obtain all the desire of
your heart. 5

Again we meet with the picture pun. Of this the common say¬
ing, K'-ao Then chHh fan, || HL f Man depends upon Heaven
for food 5 * may serve as an example. It is not unusual to see

* It is customary in some of the countless Sects of China for the Head-master

(ifi trill fll) to assign to the members the task of composing an Ode upon
some subject connected with the doctrines taught. (Imagine a chriBtian congre¬
gation where the minister committed to the individuals who happened to be
present, tbo business of inditing the hymns to be used at the next meeting!)
That the persons to whom this task is allotted, can not read a single character,

Jane.] the proverbs and common sayings op the Chinese. 187

lithographs of tablets in which this proverb lias been represented in
a very effective manner. A man is depicted as engaged in swallow¬
ing a bowl of rice, while he leans (iT'ao ||) against a gigantic T'icn,
character. One of these tablets is to be seen in the Hui Ch'tum
Szn (H M in the city of Chi Nan Fa. The letter-press below the
engraving sometimes gives excellent advice on the art of practicing
‘Virtue/for the sake of attracting attention to which, the picture
pun was apparently devised. Upon the wall which is always erected
in front of the entrance of a Chinese yamen to screen it from the street,
($31£) is constantly to be seen, as every one knows, a representa¬
tion of a frightful composite quadruped, equipped with the scales of
a fish, the head of a dragon, the tail of a lion, and the hoofs of a
horse, and called a t'an. Tliis monster is fabled to have an insati¬
able appetite for devouring the Sun, upon his attempting to swallow
which, he invariably falls, and is dashed in pieces upon his native
mountains. This thinly disguised allegory is intended to illustrate
the folly of avarice, (J|) the character for which is employed to
represent the beast in question, thus furnishing another instance
of the picture pun. By the side of the Van are drawn tigers,
leopards &c., with ingots of gold and silver in close proximity, to
denote that wherever (unjust) gain is to be had, it is accompained
with certain loss, (|f %\] $ ^ ^).

and are utterly ignorant of the laws of rhymo and rhythm, is a circumstance
of no monieut whatever. Any sort of a composition, however unequal the
liucs or however imperfect the rhymes, will pass muster. In what is known as

(.he Sect of Old Heaven the following crude verses were produced

in this way. They furoistl a sort of commentary ou tho proverb quoted above,
and also in the closing lino exomplify tho inconsequential nature of the popular
theological thinking, whero by a singular anticlimax the debt said to be due to
Heaven, is made payable to Buddha!

1 On Heaven wo lean—on Heaven we ull depend;

It is Heaven that doth our food and raiment send;

When this we ponder, aud minutely weigh,

The debt we owe to Heaven seems hard to pay.

The Hain, the Dew—from Heaven they havo their birth,

And overspread tho surface of the earth.

In plenteous years with bounteous food we’re blest,

And none by cold and hunger are distrest;

Each day we eat our periodic meals,

And Heaven’s great goodness each recipient feels.

What shall we ofier up to Heaven, its mercy to requite ?

Wo ought to beat upon our breast, and Buddha's praise recite.’

m x & x. it x s ft

XBSiillTS.

a lift t. m s m. % s «t a.

it B l£ E iMn US 3c-iS

s« u m »se ss «.

(6 (0 iu\ iH )l? ft

o

188

THE PBOVERDS AND COMMON SATINOS OF THE CHINESE. [May-

Whafcever may have been its original effect upon Chinese
officials, there is reason to fear that this form of admonition has long
since become perfectly inert. The permanent and universal appoint*
inent of these fabulous creatures to perform this singular function
exhibits, however, the strong bias of the Chinese mind toward
word-play. Who but the Chinese would have selected the Bat as the
pictorial emblem of Happiness ? And this is done, not because the
Bat is supposed to enjoy more felicity than a Cat, a Rat or a
Hedgehog but merely on the ground that the character which means
Bat {Fa t§j) happens to be identical in sound with the character
which denotes Prosperity, [Fa fg). Thus in one drawing we meet
with a corpulent officer in a red robe, grasping- in his hand a sword.
Immediately in front are five red bats (jfr f@ 4fi) this suggests
the phrase Fa isn't yen ch'ien fiS %£ UK he. ‘ Happiness (all the five
kinds) are before you in plaiu sight.’

Again, a vase {I n iay ), with clear vapor issuing from its
mouth, is drawn with the five bats in the midst of the vapor. This
suggests Citing jting tea fu, jjlj 5 . * Perfect Tranquillity and

the Five Felicities.’

Other examples are extremely abundant, a few specimens of
which will suffice to illustrate their character. In some of them the
pun is imperfect. For instance, a bat holds in his month two
golden cash, and in his claws peaches, which represent the fruit of
immortality ripening in the gardens of Hsi Wang Mu, (W Hi $)>
but once in 3000 (or as others say 9000) years. The bat stands
for Prosperity, Fu (jjg), the peach for old age, Shou (ff), while the
two cash {Shttaag-c/tien §&) very imperfectly suggest the words
Shuaug-cituan ‘both complete,’ tho whole picture thus stand¬
ing for tho expression, Fa Shou shit nag cltiian £-> t(! -

‘ Happiness and Longevity each in completeness.’

The characters representing Prosperity, Wealth &c., are those
most constantly met with in tins connection. Thus, a few buds of
the-peony (called the Flower of Wealth because found in tho gardens
of the rich), placed beside a jar in which are seen a pair of gold fish,
suggests the words Fa Kttei ya ya j=( $ i-c. ‘ Riches and
Honor in superabundance.’

So also a kind of halberd, having a crescent shaped blade, and
known as Chi ($?), with a musical plate, Citing (gE), and two fish,
stand for the phrase Chi citing ya ya ^ fig signifying ‘Aus¬

picious Happiness in overplus.’ The Ju-i or curved ornament
already referred to, is a common object in pictures, devoting tho
realization of one’s wishes. Thus a pen. Pi (^), a lump of silver,
Ting ($£) and a book, Kou (|lj) (the latter suggesting the Ja-i), stands

Jane.] tee proverbs and common sayings op the Chinese. 180

for the words Pi ting ju i, a ifi; meaning that events will

‘ Certainly happen as you wish.' So likewise two branches of a
persimmon tree, Shih (]^) } with the hook as before, signify, ‘ This
affair will turn out as you desire/ Shih shih ju i So Felicitous

sentences expressing a desire for sons who shall obtain official
distinction, are frequent subjects for picture-puns. Thus a cock
crowing in the midst of a flock of little chickens, denotes ‘ Instruc-
tionof sons to gain a name’ ^ the last character being sug¬
gested by the crowing [Ta ming Pj|) of the cock, an accomplish¬
ment which he is supposed to be imparting to his children. A cap
Kuan (k£), a girdle, Tai (^), a boat, Ch { uan ($J), and a pomegranate,
Liu (fpf), signify a wish that the members of a family in successive
generations may obtain official position, Kuan tai ch'uan liu *j^ ffj ^
i5fc- . So likewise the picture of two children, one of whom clasps a
reed pipe, sheng (££), and holds in his hand a lotus blossom, lien jH,
while the other grasps a cassia flower, Kuci (y£|), suggests;‘ May you-
have a succession of honorable sons/ Lien sheng Kuci tzu $£ j§; ^ 0

A single additional example must suffice. Upon the screen walls
of certain yamens, is to be seen an old man, called the Heavenly
Magistrate ’g), who points.with his finger to the sun, Qhih jih
($h ED* Beneath is a peck measure, Ton (5|*), which is an allusion
to the pint, Sheng {j\), ten of which make a Chinese peck. The
hidden significance of this delineation is found in the words: Chih
jih kao sheng ^ El ffj f Pointing to the day of lofty promotion.’
Ou one side are a brace of deer, Lu ($g), which intimate that the
post to which the happy individual is to be appointed, will have an
abundant emolument, Lu

The ordinary conversation of the Chinese is full of puns, of every
imaginable quality, from the coarse banter of the peasant, to the
refined quibble of the scholar. Of the former au instance occurs in
the expi'ession upon the lips of every one in China, Fa ts { ai (^g ^jf-)
to get rich. When he hears an acquaintance boasting of his pros¬
pects, or of his achievements in this line, the auditor derisively
exclaims: Fa ts'ai! Fa lcuan ts ai! (f| ;$) ‘Get a coffin V implying

that is the only wealth he is likely to gain. Used by a person of his
own affairs, it is self depreciatory. “ Why do you persist iu eating
such quantities of onions,” {tshing was asked of a country¬
man. “ Oh ! I am trying to acquire a little intelligence,” ( Chang
i tienrh is { ung ming J| — 3$ Bfj) was the ready answer.

It is not strange that the man is deaf, like his father,” said ono
in reply to an expression of wonder at the coincidence, “ docs not
the proverb say; ‘The Deaf beget deaf children, and Phoenixes

190

THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE. [May-

begefc Phoenixes ?’ (ji| f§ M, ]§,) what the proverb does say,
however, is nothing of the kind, but that ' Dragons [Lung, identical
in sound with Lung deaf) beget Dragons’, (fj| ^ ft H. ife Ht)«

It is related of the celebrated Chinese beauty Poo Ssu ££j)
the she fell into a confirmed melancholy, and would] never smile.
By a false alarm, the feudatory princes were summoned to the capi¬
tal to defend the state, and at sight of their embarassment and
surprise, Pao Ssu burst into a laugh [See Mayer’s Manual No. 541],
Hence the saying; 'Thousands of gold would not buy this one
laugh,’ ff; ^ H J| An individual who had established a

public school (I hsiao J|) and who found the expenses far in
excess of his anticipations, epitomized his experience in a new
reading of this saying; Ch'icn chin nan mai the i hsiao |g
' Thousands of gold would not pay for this public school.’

"Enough, enough,” exclaimed a guest to the host who was
pouring the inevitable cup of tea, " Do not fill it. “ Fullness makes
mischief,” ($§ }f|) a quotation from the Shu Ching and the I

Ching; 'Pride (fullness) invites calamity; humility reaps its reward’

(I§1).

On an occasion when boat-hire on the Peiho river was extrava¬
gantly high, a party of Chinese engaged a passage on a boat j$*)
to T'ung chou. At night the boat was found to be so crowded
with passengers—the boatmen determined when it rained puddings
to hold up their dish—that there was not even room to lie down.
Complaint was made to the head boatman, who promptly replied
that no injustice had been done to anyone, since all they bargained
for was space to sit up in, (f$ 65 ^ $&)•

A Chinese upon being introduced to a foreigner who had
selected the extraordinary surname of K x a (-jr) immediately inquired
for the character, and being informed that it was that which consists
in the combination of 'up’ and 'down,’ (_£ = -£) not inaptly

replied that such a name as that ' would not work up,’ and ' would
not go down,’ Cfc ^ $ 7 ^ £).

It is not foreigners only who are bantered by 'borrowing’ their
names. Many Chinese nicknames are clever hits at a man’s charac¬
ter, while others hit his character through his characters. Thus an
official, unpopular on account of his undue severity, whose name
was Chen Ssu Liang (j^ j|p] received the nickname of Ch l cn Ssu
Liang $£ gg jig q.d. Too heavy by four ounces (in the pound).

In the province of Shantung, contiguous to the Grand Canal
arc two little villages wkioh were, among others, originally set apart
for the home of those appointed to public service on the Canal.

June.] THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. 191

Such villages are called TUm OE) and—the invention of more
ambitious names perhaps involving too much mental exertion—
several of these hamlets received as designation only numbers as
Ti san t l m (jg H iS). T* mi t<un (?£ 5 lEX eh'i t'un (% ^ ]£)„
&c., commonly called simply No. 3, No. 5, No. 7, &c. The story
goes that at a market in the vicinity, a customer turning over
some water-melons, discovered a defect on the under side, and
remarked that they were ‘ground covered/ (Ti ten ti $j), i.e.

prevented from acquiring the proper color by their contact with
the soil, q.d. raised at Ti JFu (fg ftfj) a “No,” replied the seller
“they are only ‘imposed on by the earth’ (Ti chH ti Sfc 65) i.e .
hindered from ripening by the ground under them, q.d. raised at
TiCh'i

It is the custom in China when scholars meet scholars, to
entertain each other in a manner worthy of those whose minds are
enriched with the splendid spoils of ages gone by. On such occa¬
sions wine is the proper beverage. Hence the saying 1 c When a
guest arrives on a cold winter’s night, tea must do for wine/ (|£ $£
The serving of wine, thus becomes a sort of test
of the siucefety of a host’s hospitality. No excuses will take its
place, but if it is actually brought on, the genuineness of the wel¬
come is not to be questioned. Another proverb accordingly says;
c He has no dissimulation who treats his guests with wine/ (jf$ j£§

A certain scholar, like most of his class very poor,
one day received a visit from a friend whom lie wished to entertain
in the proper manner; wine, however, he had none, nor yet the
money to purchase it wherewithal. Still ho brought out wine cups,
and the wine jar, from which he proceeded to pour out pure water,
with the apposite remark; “ The intercourse of real friends is thin
like water; “That of false friends is like lioney mixed with oil”

(Sk flj m m $s to*, m ffl * t $ as a>.

The following anecdotes may serve to show the strong current
which sets toward plays on words, in every stratum of society. A
young man of somewhat limited mental capacity who was lately
married, paid his wife’s family a New Year’s visit. His brothers-
in-law, knowing his peculiarities, resolved, by employing those
means of which the Chinese are such consummate masters, to show
•him disrespect, without actual rudeness. Although it was now
mid-wiuter, he was accordingly provided with .sleeping accom¬
modations on a cold ‘ stove-bed/ or k'ang. The Chinese horror of
a cold h'ang is proverbial; r Sleep on a cold bed, but not on a cold
k'ang’ (ft M S *> H 8J&). 'The little Idiot’—another

192

THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. [May-

proverb rang, 1 sleeps on a cold k'ang—but that is because he is
strong and vigorous/ ({g >]> % ®£ $ ££ £ ft # ■? &)«* It was
therefore no compliment to our friend that his K'ang was not
heated, yet he retired without complaint. During the night,
however, finding it unendurably cold, he awaked, and perceiving in
a comer a large timber, he siezed it, and strode hack and forth,
carrying it upon his shoulder (K'ang f/£) the beam {Liang |j£), until
he was thoroughly warrued, when he returned to his slumbers.
In the morning his hosts professed much anxiety to know how he
had fared, and especially whether his bed had not proved too cold
(IT ang Hang ma ££ Jjg Jg\ “ Ah!,” exclaimed their guest, “ If I
had not shouldered the beam, I should have frozen! ” (Pu Pang
Hang chiu timg ssu liao 7 Jj % T)«

A Chinese skimmer—called a Chao li mm costs so little that
it is not worth while to mend it when broken. Hence the proverb;
'Who though he lias ready money will mend a skimmer? 'f (when
for the money which repair would cost, he could buy a new one).

Now it is a general custom to hang out a
skimmer at the door of a house where a lodging for foot travellers
may be had, p simple means of notification which saves much useless
inquiry. If the Reader never before beard of this practice, he need
not be surprised, for he has company in liis ignorance. On one
occasion the Emperor Ch'ien Lung was riding in his chariot, accom¬
panied by his minister Ho Ch'en (fpj Jjg). Chancing to see a skimmer
hung over a door, His Majesty inquired what it was for, and was
informed that it was to dip up things wherewithal, ^ W)o The
Emperor with affected surprise replied; “Cannot the North and
South then be dipped up with it ? How is it that it only dips up
East and West ? ” “ Because,” instantly replied the Minister, “ the
South belongs to Fire, which would burn the dipper; the North be¬
longs to Water, which would leak through, while the East belongs

* The meaning of this sayiug—as of so many others in Chinese—is figurative: ‘ The
young simplotion, incapable of asserting his rights, is protected by Heaven'
(which gives him a good constitution). Another shade of the same idea is ex¬
pressed in the proverb; ‘ The half witted fellow who always get a warm K'ang ’

K ffl Ip 1 #, jjl i.e. although he can not take caro of himself, Fate takes
caro of him.

t A singular example of the variation of Chinese proverbs—if that can bo called
variation where nearly all the parts are different—is afforded by this saying. It
is sometimes explained thus; A wealthy blockhead owned a pear orchard tho
produce of which was constantly eaten by the birds. At length a passing tra¬
veller suggested to tho owner, a ‘happy thought.' He might cover his fruit.
Accordingly he had little cloth caps made for each individual pear, a means
which whb found to be a complete protection. Yet for obvious reasons tho idea
was nover extensively utilized. Hence this versiou of tho proverb; ‘Who, though

ho commands ready mouey, will cover his pears with cloth ?'

193

June.] THE TROVE EDS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE.

to Wood, and the West to Metal—for these reasons the skimmer
dips up East and West, hut does not dip up North and South.”
His Majesty smiled, and commended Ho Ch'en’s aptness of reply.

Not only is the conversation of the Chinese full of puns ; they
are imbedded in the substance of the language itself. In Williams’
dictionary q.v. she, tongue (fj) the circumstance is noted that in the
Cantonese dialect this word is pronounced U, to profit OfiJ) because
the word she of the same tone, means to lose in trade, and has
thus an unlucky association. The same authority also mentions
that the singular expression hsing li ft baggage, is regarded as
a kind of pun on the more national term hsing li ft j|g that is,
things that are reasonable or proper for a journey. Other instances
of the same kind aro no doubt frequent.* The homophony of the
language seems to breed this kind of paranomasia error in single
words standing by themselves, by a kind of spontaneous generation,
as the damp heats of August produce mould, mildew and mos¬
quitoes, without visible provocation. What, for example, would or
could any mortal—whatever his acquaintance with Chinese—under¬
stand, from heariug that a person’s speech is “ a great pear dump¬
ing; (A % $£) or that he is 'playing the great pear,’ (H ^ %) ?

The use of these phrases at Tientsin, is said to have originated
as follows. A man acquired the art of making pear-dumplings, in
a manner which, no one could rival, of which, when hawked about
the street, he enjoyed a monopoly. One windy day when his
sales had been insignificant, some ono asked him how much
cash he had taken in. He replied that owing to the storm which
kept people from going abroad, he had only sold a few tens of
thousands of cash worth, (a sum surpassing his real sales for a year),
but observed that if the day had been fine, he should have received
more than a thousand strings of cash. If the natives of the placo
are to be believed, this Tientsin Munchausen—who at the age of
seventy may still be seen daily trundling his little barrow, and is
heard grunting unintelligibly to attract customers has given a
new turn to the local dialect. The expression ta li hua (ft fj)

* What would be thonghfc of an Act of Parliament prohibiting any resident of Mid¬
dlesex or Kent, from building ‘an Ice-house,’ on the ground that the Queen
of England lives in ' a nice house,’ aud would tolerate no rivalry P Yet some¬
thing not very unliko this is to be found in China. In tho Chinese Recorder for
Dec. L882, Dr. Dudgcou meutioDs the circumstance that tho people living in
the Westorn Hills behind Peking, are not allowed to store icc, (of which an
abundant stock could bo easily laid up) on the equitable consideration that the

chamctcr signifying Ice, (ping ?R) is identical in sound with the character for

Soldier (ping ^), so that it might bo a source of uneasiness to a government
■which ie in perpetual dread of rebellions, to hear that ping (ice-blocks, g.rt.
soldiers) by tho ton thousand were iu concoalmont so near tho Capital !

194

THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. [May-

in current use to denote 'large talk/ in consequence of the un¬
exampled extravagance of this man's language, lias come to bo
reinforced by the phrases ta li kao , ^ ££) great pear dumpling/

and s/ma ta li (J^. ^ ‘ playing the great pear/ in allusion to

the ' pear talk' from which the saying originated, the oblique
reference being still to the li distant ($$) meaning; ' his language
is far away* [from the truth]. Of all Chinese modes of expression,
this of word punning is perhaps the easiest for a foreigner to
acquire, not only because it differs in no essential respect from
wbat is to be met with in Occidental languages, but because
resembances between different characters of the same sound strike
the foreign ear, unaccustoned in his own language to such incessant
homopkouy, much more quickly and more forcibly than they strike
natives.f Despite this fact, if one's observation is to be trusted,
Chinese word-play receives from the generality of foreigners who
speak that language very slight attention, even in works which
profess to treat of Chinese.

1 How many boats are with you V was asked of a traveller.

‘ Yang Chen / was the compendious reply. Now Yang Chen was a
distinguished scholar and official who lived a.d. 100, and who was
famed for his integrity. It is of him that the familiar incident is
related, that having been nrged to accept a present wliick was tant¬
amount to a bribe, he refused, as it was brought at night. The
donor remonstrated, saying 'No one will ever know it.’ To this
Yang Chen made the answer which has deservedly inmortalized his
name, ' Heaven knows it. Earth knows it, you know it, and I know
it—how then do you say that no one will know it ?’ $1 &1

&P £0 M M £B)o [See Mayer's Manual, No 880]. This famous
reply of Yang Chen’s is generally briefly referred to as Yang Chen’s
‘ Four Knowings' ([J| M E3 &0 what was therefore to be undcr-

* Tho Chinese idiom delights in making its strongest affirmations by means of
negations. An immense multitude is morely 'not a few/ (A t}s) a very
bad man is simply ‘not a good inau’ (* £ M A), excellence is merely ‘not
bad’ (pa /at /{* in Peking; j>n tiao in somo country dialects); a particularly

bright child is ‘not in the least idiotic* ( i tie a’ eh ‘pu sha • Si % *«)
&e. It is claimed by some, that we have a common English slang word, which
springs from a Chinese expression involving this meiosis, or unification of what is
meant. The Occidental youngster declares that his kite is ‘bully’ meaning that
it is ‘tip-top/ ‘A No. 1.” Tho Chinese more modestly predicates of the article that

delights his soul, that it is pu li PSiO ‘not far from being the thing—
amjlice, bully.

t Thus the pinnae 77sin clrien tzit (j& & ?) ‘heart’s tip/ is a kind of pot name
with Chinese mothers for their little ones. “ Stop/' cried a house-keeper, “ put
down my new scissors, and never dare dare to use them again to trim the

lamps! You may have the nurses’ hsin chien tzu (i& & ?), [i.e. the Baby]
but my hsin chien tzu («#* new scissors) never!”

195

June.] THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE.

stood by the traveller’s reply was that he had with him four hoots
(E? !£)• The P reseu ^ reference, however, is not simply to com¬
paratively legitimate puns like these, in imitation of the Chinese
maimer, but to linguistic crimes of far greater turpitude. Tho
entire world is, by this time familiar with the mongrel dialect which
finds expression in foreign sounds, by the help of battered and
broken down idioms from various sources, and which is known as
pigeon English. Has it ever recurred to the header that there is,
or may be, such an illegitimate hybrid as pigeon Chinese ? Yet
the vicious idea once planted, siezes the mind like the famous
f Horse-car poetry/ witness such mongrel gems as the • following;

f Pig-headed/ Chu t e ou ti M (ft- ‘He thinks he is a great
thing’: Ta i tzu chi icci ta tung hsi } £1 || S 2% 'h "M W f Light
out of there’; Kuang ch c u ch‘u % ffj 1 Despise a mule/ hi sen lo
tzu , #$; U This is an historical allusion (•£ Jtfc) to a ‘ darkey’

who when riding a mule suddenly fouud himself on the ground.
Slowly rising, and rubbing himself meanwhile, he remarked / Dat’s
what makes me’ ‘spisc a mule !’ Suppose now that some one should
propose as a suitable motto for a Chinese silk shop, the characters.
Urn j>u t c ou chi (f£ $|), 'words that do not suit/ and suppose

upon being pressed for an explanation of so irrelevant an inscrip¬
tion, lie should affirm that they were cited (in the manner so familiar
to the Chinese) to suggest the clause which follows—to wit, pan
chu to (■££ / p] % 'when words do not suit, half a sentence is too
much’) q.d. Pongee in abundance, ! That way madness lies.

Beyond an occasional vague hint that the Chinese are fond of
riddles, and other dark sayings, it is rare to find even an allusion
to the subject. The twenty volumes of the Chinese Repository, for
example,—a thesaurus of essays upon every imaginable subject
connected with China, especially rich in articles devoted to various
phases of the Chinese language—contains but a few short lists of
proverbs, nearly all of which are printed with no Chinese text. Tho
volume containing the copious Index to all these thousands of
teeming pages, comprises references to only three Chinese puns.*

* Mr. Scarborough's treatment of plays upon Chinese diameters, is singularly
inadequate- Ho speaks of "Pints,” ami of “ Iniiendoes,” neither of which
terms, however, is lie at the pains to dcfiuc. Under, the former title, we find in
the Index three references to proverbs, containing plays, not njiou sound- or
moaning, but- upon tho shapes of characters No. 257, ' Debt oppresses man'

(5t¥l A ffl); No 309, ‘ The Ktitvj character can not raise its head,’
(l?7 Si Bjf, i.e. the workman, cannot becatno a Master—the
character can not become a chu ^ character); and No 1310 'The Characters
*elf and r/reat, make the character for malodorous & IH -A :?)

i.e* Pride is unsavory. [The character ch'ou is not composed of self and
great (though often so written) as any one will dulcet iu an iustaut. The

196

THE TROVEEBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE.

[May-

Proverbs m which attention is drawn not to the meaning, nor
to the sound, but to the composition of a character are not num-
erous. In addition to the examples cited from Mr. Scarborough’s
volume in the last note, two or three specimens (from the Chinese
Rcpositonj and from Doolittle’s Hand-book) may suffice. ‘The
character for Magistrate has two mouths’ i.e. Bribery. pjg

^ P) f The character for Joy has two mouths’ i.c. Quarrels over
presents ^ M 'i'* P) ‘The characters for Avarice and Poverty
are much alike,’ i.c. Avarice tends to Poverty. (*£■ H
Plays upon the shapes of characters are readily exhibited in the
form of the Antithetical Couplet, as in the following examples. The
first is similar to instances already given under the head of Couplets.
It is related of the Emperor Chhen Lung that on occasion of his
travelling abroad to inspect the empire, he propounded to his
minister Ho Ch‘ien gg) already mentioned the following line

lower part is ch'ium A a. dog—in allusion to the scent. In China, however, as
in other lands, a pointed jest is more relished than a dull fact.] Of the other

two references in the Index, one, No. 1890 {^J Jl /?» $b JX) >8 devoid of
any obvious meaning, and, os already mentioned scorns to be a mistake. Tho
remaining example, No. 549 ffc ^ $£ &£ ^ fjf, ‘ In great distress

and penniless,’ apparently coutains nothing at all resembling a play either
upon sound or upon meaning or form. No. 800, ‘Calamity can not raise its head,’

(® ? * m m) which seems to be anolngous to No. 309, is not noticed
in this connection. Under the title “Inueudoes,” we have four examples, of

which the first, No, 799‘Woe ! and alas ! Death is hard to guess’ (P,(|.

B<o A JE ||£ appears to be totally irrelevant to the subject. No. 1022
‘On weddings and burials it is hard to answer clearly’

<5rc No. 1252, ‘a honk attached to a ring, to him let nobody clin™’’ (§£j jiff

SSSA8) are examples neither of a play upon a sound, nor upon a
meaning, but are simply expressions used in o particular connection, which uro
([noted to suggest a wider application. The remaining instance. No. 892,

'To draw the big net out of a water-butt,’ (* fi I * JS »> is tho
only case iu cither list, of a proper pnu— i.e. ono meaning or one sound used fur
another. No. 2360 ‘a heard should not be put on the god of sailors' (jj|| $9 ^

SK?.# *±.) which is similar in form and application to No. 1022,
and 1252, is not noticed in the Index, nor are tho only other two puns iu the
volume, No. 1550, ‘Tho country seller has dropped his stick, and dare not strike

liis gong’ (S tl f/j a *. 7 1 *.) and No. 1759, ‘Two scholars
fighting for a pencil,’ (p|3 (0 4^ JT ^fco tpj- The former is
introduced without explanation, while the latter, (.as is also the case with No,
1022) is explained wrongly. In each case wc are informed that only tho lust
clause is spoken, whereas a moment's consideration would show that tho exact
opposite is tho case. To pronounce the sentence (No. 1659 ‘Two scholars arc
fighting,’ would instantly convey to any ono familiar with, the expression, tho
remaining explanatory words, wei pi (3§ ajt q-d. s veipi for the sake

of suggesting which tho sentence was prefixed. Tho hearer at onco under¬
stands, that while in form a pencil is described as tho occasion of a quarrel, in

reality Improbability (* &) is the only idea intended. Were tho words
tcei pi spoken alone, however, they would simply convey their own meaning,
and no other, and all verbal play would be out of tho question. Considering
tho wealth of. materials available, three puns in a collection of nearly SOOO
proverbs, appears a somewhat exiguous proportion.

June.] THE PUOVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE. 197

to be matched, which was suggested by the surrounding scenery !
f The smoke envelopes the willows which grow in the tanks/ (jt@ §§
life ® ^ke difficulty of matching the line lies in the circum¬
stance that the radicals of the five characters are the names of the
"Five Elements' (jg ff). Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, and Earth,
i)- At the time the Minister was unequal to the
emergency, but on reaching a place where the tower of the city gate
looking seaward, was furnished with cannon, he was enabled to
reply as follows; 'The artilley on the city tower, commands the sea/

$$ ‘$1 M following couplet the point is found in the

concluding character of each line; * When the kingdom is in dis¬
order and its subjects in poverty, if the King does not come to the
front, who is Master ? When the days are wintry, and the ground
cold, if there is not a drop of water, there will be formed no Ice.

Bft JS£o

A wood cutter coming down from the mountain with his bundle
of faggots on his back, met a traveller, and pointing to his burden
proposed a line to be matched, in which is comprised a dissection
of the four and seventh characters, as follows; ‘ This wood is fuel,
and every mountain produces it/ (jlfc Tfw tlj llj ffi). Glancing
around the landscape, and seeing the smoke of the evening fires
curling upward, the traveller aptly replied; ‘ By reason of fire is
formed smoke and each evening there is an abundance/ (@

The comparative infrequency of plays upon the shapes of
the written character, to be met with in popular proverbs, is far
more than compensated by the use made of characters in riddles
and other enigmatical sentences, in ways which in alphabetic
language are utterly impossible. A few examples wall suffice to
illustrate the illimitable resources of the Chinese in this direction.
One of the simplest forms of puzzles in English, consists in parad¬
oxical predicates, quite bewildering to the juvenile mind as,—

“I’m in the Fire, but not in the Flame,

I’m in tho Spinster, but not in the Dame," &c.

Where the vowel I is the object in question. Or this:—

“The beginuing of Eternity, tho end of Time and Space,

The beginning of every End, aud the ond of every Place.”

In Chinese, however, the same clew is far more ingeniously
afforded; ‘ It is in T ang and in Yu, but not in Yao nor Shun ; in
S/tang and C/iou but not in Yang or Wu. j| § ^ ^

iel ^i 0 fir the K‘ou P~ character. ‘The feet have it,

the legs have it, the shoulders have it, the back has it, and so has

198

THE PJEOVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE.

[May-

the breast; but the head has not, nor has the face, nor the ear, nor
the eye, nor yet the hand, nor the fingers, Rifl ± M h^r

iiSofi w, m ±# m ± «««i ». 5 ± s ±

f&o T Jt -fa _t {H $§ 0 *- e - the joxo JEJ character. The following
sentence serves to exemplify the statement quoted under the head
of ‘ Odes/ that ‘ Wide is the scope of the character 1/ and to show
that the simplicity of a character is no guarantee that one can
comprehend all that is affirmed of it; ‘ Above it is not above, below
it is not below ; it cannot be above, ought to be below, ;£ T & J:

T T To T Jba J1 S To i- e > the *— character as
found in composition in the shang _fc character is not * above/ while
in the hsia f character it is not ‘ below/ in the characters pu ^
and hie pj it is above, while in ch'ieh and i it is below. ‘No
line above, no line below, below too it is below, and above it is

above/ iSSi.TXll.HST.1 Sll. u

the pu f> character has nothing above or beneath it but in hsia f
character it is at the bottom, and in the shang character it is
at the top.

‘ Four mouths and a cross; four crosses and a mouth/ 0 (]£}

— + P %o he. the i'u fU and pi

^ characters. The use of the several component parts of a charac¬
ter in the enigmatical description of the character as a whole,
frequently leads to trackless mazes. Here, for example, are four
characters forming a sentence, and each character compendiously
(and darkly) described by four others; ‘Mother and son sleep
together; two yu characters shoulder to shoulder; a man shoulders
his carrying pole; the moon goes by the side of the ear.’ £ %

IS) SE. I X S 1. A « £ a A 5 & u. ‘a

pair of great feet/ where the moon is made to do duty for the jou
character, exactly like it. ‘One moon and then another moon;
above the middle of the moons is an arable field, while below there
are flowing streams. Six mouths in one house—two months
incomplete.’ - J] M o ® M & % ± % vf £ ft,

T W Jl Jlfo aJ P ^ — Hr, | P /p | [|J o «•<?• the yung
J0 character. Ihere is one mouth—then add another mouth, but
do not make the hi character. Seen right side up it is the ssu
character, and two points in addition, seen crosswise it the via
character, and two strokes more—but it is not the pci character/

fT-i Po&fa P„ g g!?i 0 iE7

55v f @ ^ 1 15o R. ^ he. the characters inn

U3> ac< ^ m icn J2J 0 ‘Two strokes large, and two strokes small,
® ^ PS Hi J ‘- c the chi in ^ character, in which the upper

June.] THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE.

199

part lias two more lines than la great, and the lower part two
more than hziao >J> small. Three characters. ‘ Two mountains
connected but not opposite; two mountains opposite and connected;
one branch of literature reaches to the heavens,’ j|C %

# -stfs

W 3c. <"•«• I S the lower part of the last character which is in
reality the yu % radical, is described is if it were teen literature,
with a long stroke at the top.

In the following examples, the.constituent parts of the char¬
acters are employed to throw the inquirer off the scent; Two
characters. ‘A mu character with two points added, but it must
not be a pei character; a pci character lacking two points, hut it
must not be the mu character/ g % jfo gj. }g f£ £ % ^ 0

I ? ^ I lo H ffc @ Mo The characters are Ho ^ and
Tzu The first of these, is composed of the mu g character,
'with two points added/ i.c. Chia jjjj to add and ‘two points/
pij 15o The second character is the mu again, ‘lacking two points,
i.c. Ch'icn ^ to lack, and ‘ two points/ fjEj g£ 0

‘ If yon can, I do not stand up ; if you stand up, I can not; if the
middle bar is removed, there is an end of both you and me/ ffc

$ ^ ft' i ^ T *f» — ifl T Ifc fa tliafc

Ch'i character, assumed to be a copartnership between Li ^ to
stand, and Ho p[ able. ‘ A literary graduate wangling with a
Buddhist priest; the priest does not become a complete priest, nor
does the literary graduate become a complete graduate/ ££ || ^

ft ft' *1 P. ft It * $ fu ft'. 4 fl * & 1. >.C. the Sim, g S

character, the upper portion of which is the same as the Skoug in
the term Ho zhang fpj priest; the lower part is the Yuen §|
character found in the term Bhang yucu ^ | a scholar of a certain
grade. The two characters corner on the K'ou 0 character (Chiao
Idou ^ p) and as neither of them can have the mouth to himself,
neither is complete.

From this it is but a step to the introduction of other characters,
in which the one to be guessed is merely a constituent. ‘Four
mountains; crosswise, two days interlocked. In Wealth it raises its
foot, in Embarassment it raises its head.’ 0 [f] fg g ■£$

tZ M % & B 0 Mo '- e - tbe T'den fg character; which in

Wealth r ^\ is at the foot, but in Embarassment, jfl, is at - the head.

f The three Kings are my cider brothers, the five Emperors
my younger brothers. I wished to stop, but could not, and by
reason of being in the wrong gave offense.’ Hi £ IS 51o 2L

200

TUB PnOVERBfJ AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE. [M.Ty-

Tlie solution of this puzzle is found in the character Ssu [?g four,
which is the ‘younger brother’ of three (as in ‘three Kings'), and
the ‘elder brother' of five (as in ‘five Emperors’}. The words
which follow, Yic pa erh pu neiuj ffi ffij 7* ft are quoted from the
Confucian Analects, and refer to the use of Ssu 0 in composition.
It would like, Yin to be a Pa iff but that can not be without a
Neng f£ character, ^ f| W 7* tbo In the last clause, the Ssu []g
becomes, (7b guilt, Isui |p as soon as the character Fci ^ is
added, Yin fei erh te Uui ]fc fp Q

The facility with which the descriptions of the characters to be
guessed, glide from the form of the character or of some of its parts,
to the meaning which is conveyed by them, increases the obscurity
of what is already sufficiently dark. Thus; ‘Cold merely doubles
it, and heaps it up; while heat scatters it equally on each side; four
in the District city—three in the prefectural city; in the village
only within the village, at the market only at the head of the
market.’ ^ MU H H # gij 0 # %£ 0 0 f@ # % a £ f®

£ jHlo Mo £ Iff m R & tfi BMc >•<?■ a dol, which iu
the character San cold, is doubled iu a heap; in the character
Jc ffc heat, it is spread out on each side equally; it occurs four times
in the character hsien District city, but only three times in the
Prefectural city, Chou ; the character TJun village, it is found
inside, while in the character Shih iff market, it stands at the head.

‘When drawn it i's round, but when written it is square; in
cold weather it is short, and in hot weather long/ jf£ j$f 1J 0 %
i.e. Jih 0 character, ‘ sun/ or ‘ day.’

‘ One character with nine strokes, six of them straight. Were
you to ask Confucius, he would guess three days/ ^ ^ ji ^

So Pol £ 7*0 In H 0 o W. tile Clung character, com¬
posed of the character for day written tin-ice.

Proper names are readily drawn into service to aid in the
composition of a riddle. Thus the object to be represented being
stated as ‘Ladies’ head ornaments,’ ‘two historical persons’aio
affirmed to be the material of which they are to be made. The
expert guesser is supposed to light upon Huang Kai ^ an indivi¬
dual of the time of the Three Kingdoms, and Li Pai ^ the
celebrated Pang Dynatly poet, as the persons in question, i.e. the
inside white (silver) with a yellow covering ^ it (gold).

Phrases and proverbs are also serviceable for riddles, which—
like oriole’s nests—may be made of whatever is at hand. Thus
when many years ago, a Peking temple was purchased for a mission
headquarters, the circumstance was ingeniously adverted to in

201

June.] THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE.

Peking f lantern riddle/* which named the temple giving as the
clew/ a common 9aying, (g§ fg ~ fa) 0 The ‘ common saying’
proved to be; ‘ when the gods depart, devils enter/ #

By a judicious application of these devices almost anything
may be derived from almost nothing. Few Chinese characters, for
instance, would appear balder and more unpromising of hidden
revelations than mich Yet in the bauds of an expert Chinese
literary juggler, it becomes as instinct with meaning as a Hebrew
vowel point under the manipulation of the Talmudists. For
example, the character being given, it is required to deduce from it
two phrases out of the Four Books. (£9 “ fa ) The Reader, who

has his Analects at his tongue’s end, immediately pronounces these
phrases to be $ £q 4, and ^ 4, to be rendered; ‘It is not like
the ych 4 character, and it is not yah. Or, the process may be
reversed, and a character distilled from classical citations in a
manner somewhat analagous to the well known array of bible texts
to prove the duty of immediate suicide—‘And Judas went out and
hanged himself / ‘Go thou and do likewise/ ‘What thou doest, do
quickly.’ From the following composite text, is to be obtained a
single character f fif afs $ jfi |f B„J| 4 M iH PS fS 1 BJK
4. £ ? * ® M 3? B.'M *1 £ 4. it & * 4* £. In these

thvee and thirty characters, we have seven different passages from
the Four Books fused together to make a new sense. Here are
the quotations; ? ^ I | H (Lun Yti, xi. 25.4) ‘ Tzu-lu
hastily and lightly replied / ^ 4 Lun Yu xvm. 6.2). ‘Yes, it is.’

B {Lun Yu ix. 10. 1.) ‘ Yen Yuan sighed deeply, and
answered/ |f£ 4 (Lun Yii xv. 2, 3.) ‘No, it is not.’ f *£ $
W % B (San Y&) xvn. 4.2.) ‘The master well pleased and smiling,
said/ Mfe ;!1 (Mencius, bk. i. 6.6) ‘ Such being indeed the case/
® ^ ^ ^ {Lun Yu xni. 18. 2.) ‘Uprightness is to he found in

this/ The original meaning of these several passages, has no
reference to the use here made of them, which is as follows; Tzu-lu
hastily and lightly spoke up, and said, it is the Ych 4 chamcter.
‘Yen Yuan sighed deeply and replied; It is no such thing. ‘The
Master well pleased, and smiling, said; Sure enough ‘it is like Yeh,
aud, so it would be if you put an upright stroke is the middle of it/

* The observations made in regard to the enormous number of Antithetical Couplets
annually produced in China, apply equally well to Riddles of all varieties. The
Empire is huugwith lanterns, on tho evening of the Feast of chat name at the

fifteenth of tho first moon, and the lanterns are papered with Kiddles J&),
for the correct solution of which such prizes as a few cash, or a handful of
water-melon soeds are offered. Old riddles are regarded with as much con¬
tempt for this purpose as a last year's almanac for Using the feast day’s

(fif fiU so that tho resources of tho Chinese

language and literature, muse be subjected to a severe annual tax.

202

THE PROYEEBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE. [May-

So also tlie Ya 55 character is propounded as yieldiug a
'common saying’—to wit % % |f i.c. ‘a heart not inclined

toward virtue’’—‘ wicked’—an oblique intimation that if a heart is
appended to the Ya character, it will be not virtuous, >Lr T' H
i.e. wicked. The Chinese Classics furnish an inexhaustible
repertory of materials, from which may bo woven riddles of assorted
degrees of complexity thus the words ; Wen Kuan Chang , fd] {$
are furnished as a clew, and the Reader is expected to remember
that these character, occuriug in the Analects- (bk. xiv. ch. x. hi) are
followed by the words; Yuehjcn i/eh 0 A «&• From these data, a
Chinese would discover at once that the t'a & character is the
object to be guessed—being composed of Jen ^ and ych In
cases of this sort, the original sense of the passage has no more to
do in the exposition of the riddle, than the text, “ Let him that is
upon the house-top not come down,” had to do with the sermon of
the traditional frontier preacher, who denounced the current style
of wearing ladies’s hair in a hall on the crown of the head, from the
words; ‘ Top-knot, come down !’ Of a different sort is the use made
in the following example, of the words of Mencius (Book I. vii. 4)

denoting that a certain sacrifice need not
fail (because of the lack of an ox) for a sheep could be substituted.
The words are given an entirely new meaning by exchanging the
signification of the characters, for another which arises through an
union of their component parts. Thus; In the Ho fpj character,
the Ho pf is obliterated, (Ho k'ofci ych) fnj pT M exchanged

for a yang, O' yang i chih ip ^ YL)> by which substitution is ob¬
tained a new yang .character, which is the answer to the riddle.

To the Western Barbarian the Chinese Essays which are
presented at the literary examinations, may appear jejune in style,
commonplace in matter, and full of vicious circles, forever taking
for granted what they ought to prove, and proving what they ought
to take for granted. However just this criticism may be, and I
do not wish to be understood as uttering a word in disparagement
of its justice, it is still true that these essays (or Wen chang %
as they are called) resemble those dwarf trees which the Chinese
gardeners are at such pains to produce by artificial treatment.
* The fly,’ says the Chinese proverb, ‘although a small insect, has all
his viscera complete.’ 35, ^ fR ^) 0 In like manner tko

Chinse essay, although perhaps limited to three hundred characters,
is a finished growth in itself. It has a Head, a Neck and Throat,
Arms, Viscera, Leg's, and Feet. The construction of essays of this
sort is the one.great business of millions upon millions of Chinese.

203

June.] THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE.

The mere thought of the aggregate number which is produced
every year, is quite fatiguing. These observations are intended
merely to preface a specimen of this kind of composition, which,
like the riddle just cited, is a mosaic but. a mosaic of much greater
complexity than the last. It is composed of nearly eighty clauses,
every one of which is taken from the Four Books, but combined in
the general form of an examinative essay. The subject is * The
Hen-pecked Man/ which, though a favorite one for Chinese banter,
might not at first sight appear particularly eligible for an essay
framed from citations strictly classical. To the Chinese text is
appended a list of the places in the Classics where the words quoted
may be found.*

tt ft i?

W it A 31 [Conf. Analects, viii. 20. 3.] J| = gg 4 [An. vii. 3.]
^ A ^ a [Analects a. 13. 3.] § ^ [Analects vm. 3.]

& & ^ & [Analects iv. 18.] gij H gfc [Analects vii. 33.]
m Brl£ [Menc. Bk. ii. Pt.i.2.20.] $l?[Me.Bk. v. Pt. i. 2.1.]

fa ^ H [An. i. 12. 1.] g* i} [Doctrine of the Mean xv. 2.]
$f % H [An. I. 12. 1.] Menc. Bk. i. Pt. i. 6. 2.]

k ft M fa ti [An. xn. 4.3.] ft 4 [Mencius Bk. v. Pt. n. 6. 1.]

rfzklpjfyMM Eft . [Analects hi. 8. 1.]

A [Great Learning, u. 6.] ^ % [Analects i. 1. 2.]

[Mencius Book vi. Part i. 17. 3.]
[Me.Bk.m. Pt. ii. 2. 2 [Me.Bk.ii.Pt.il. 10.2.]
^4^$$ [Menc. Bk. i. Pt. n. 4.6.] [Me. Bk. vi. Pt. ii. 15. 3.]

fr fr in 4 [Analects xi. 12.1.] [Menc. Bk. v. Pt. i. 4. 1.]

[Menc. Bk. vi. Pt. ii. 15. 3.] [Analects x. 2. 1.]

# s’ HI [An. xi. 25. 10.] 4 [Menc. Bk. iv. i. Pt. 15. 2.]

[Menc. Bk. v. Pt. i. 2.4,]Jfcj£&4 [Me. Bk. i. Pt. n. 6.1.]
§£ Z (S§ £§ [Analects xix. 9.] ... j{f A P5 [Analects vi. 13.]

& f!) An 4 [Analects x. .3. 1.] & ^ [Analects xv. 41. 1.]

&£ in 4 [Analects x. 2. 2.] £ [Analects v. 18. 1.]

— Hi jy ^ [Analects iv. 21.] $1 -t| £5 [Analects v. 18. 1.]

— m J£1 [An. iv. 21.] pg g 0 [Menc. Bk. iv. Pt. ir. 24.. 2.]

[Analects in. 6.] ^ & [Menc. Bk. i. Pt. ii. 14. 1.]

$ [Me. Bk.iv.Pt. ii. 33.1.] 1 fi| [Me. Bk. i. Pt. i,7.17.]

in ^ ft [Analects xv. 15.] 0 /(> & [Analects xv. 30.]

* Tho labor which most have been expended upon a merely trifle like this, is best

appreciated by considering the trouble involved in untwisting the well woven
thread. A scholar of more than twenty years experience in teaching the
Classics, and who was therefore nenvly as familiar with them as a Sunday
School pupil with the Teu Commandments occupied almost all his spare time
for a week, in ascertaining and vcrifyiug tho references.

204 THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE. [Haj-

pT W ft [Menc. Bk. vn. Pt. n. 14. S.] gg [An. xv. 30.]

[Me.Bk. vn. Pb. ii. 23.2.] ,gg:H;3|E||[ Me.Bk. iv. Pt.n. 33.1.]
H £ r£ [Analects xv. 16.] TflJ [Menc. Bk. i. Pt. i. 7. 12.]

tb -ifc [Doctrine Mean xm. 4.] ^ ^ [Doc. Mean xv. 2.]

& [Analects v. 8. 3.] j3|il:|£ : p [Menc. Bk. vn. Pt. i. 22. 3.]

B Analects v. 26.] ^[Menc. Bk. in. Pt. i. 1. 4.]

H it iC M [Menc. Bk. v. Pt. n. 6.6.] [Doc. Mean xv.2]

35'fc'&lMMenc. Bk. m. Pt. 1 .1.4.] —§£ [Me.Bk.iv.Pt.n.33.1.]
M P M M [Analects vm. 3.] ... ti| P? [Analects in. 6.]

^i^ll^^:^;^^[Me.Bk.ni.Pt.n.2.2.] g|t#; [Me. Bk. v.Pt.i.3.3.]

[Mencius Book n. Part n. 12. 6.]
IE f§ 'fr'X ‘jt 'm & *& $ 4 [Mencius Book iv. Part i. 7. 2.]

3E W yf $L [Analects vm. 5.] 7F [Doctrine Mean x. 3.]

t-4 [Menc. Bk.iv.Pt.i.26.2.] [Me. Bk. v. Pt. i. 6. 2.]

33‘7fe$C<& . [Mencius Book vn. Part i. 21. 3.]

^f 1$ # £ 1 & [Mencius Book iv. Part n. 27. 7.]

THE HEN-PECKED MAN.

[Announcement of the Theme, $£ ^ |§ c This forms the Head,
jlgj There is a Woman, who is to me a cause of sadness. When
she does not speak, I know enough to keep out of her way. When I
see that she is resolved not to yield, what dare I do ?

[Development of the Theme, jf£ fjjj; 0 This forms the Neck,
A long time ago I heard it said that when man and
wife dwell together, harmony is the greatest treasure; happy union
with one’s wife—this is beautiful. On first approaching her, I saw
nothing very terrible about her—what was there to be anxious
about ? What was there to fear ?

[The sentence succeeding the Development of the Theme,
pS T This >s the Throat,

What, to be sure ?

[The first two Couplets, ~ These are the Arms |£ 0 ]
The pretty dimples of her artful smile, the well defined black and
white of her eye ! She harmonizes well with the entire family. Is
not this pleasure ? Then when she is happy with wine, when she
is fuil to repletion with virtue, she does not disobey her husband.
This is what one would wish.

[The turning point of the Discussion, R ^ lEo] ^° w
real state of things is quite otherwise.

[The central Couplets, 4* Jt, These are the Viscera, 0]
It is manifest in her looks—in her bold and soldier-like manner,
for her countenance is discomposed; it is exhibited in her tones,
for she speaks in a decided and straight-forward way, and her

205

June.] The proverbs and common sayings of the Chinese.

language concedes nothing to any one. On listening to her words,
I gladly escaped, and when I returned, I gazed upon her severely.
Just as I was entering the door, her countenance appeared to
change; when I reached the mat, I was ill at ease. If there .was
no displeasure in her countenance, that was to me an occasion for
joy; if there was no joy in her countenance, that was to. me an
occasion of fear. I asked the servautS, saying; 'can you not rescue
me from her ? I am in extreme terror.’ I spoke to my concubine
and said; ' Is it so bad as that ? There is then no help for it.*
I have been the whole day without eating, and I could not ask.
I have been all night without sleep—I dared not come near her.
To behave proudly to my -wife and concubine,—this is difficult
indeed. To make my wife imitate my conduct,—I can not do it I
To enjoy pleasure with my wife—I an not equal to it ( As for
instructing my wife— that is all over ! Other husbands have married
two women, and have had delightful and enduring harmony. I am
a husband with one wife and one concubine, hut I am apprehensive
and fearful. Alas! is this being a real husband ? Nevertheless,
I am not surely like one of those unworthy husbands 1

[Final Couplets, ^ ^ These are the Legs, Not able
to command her—not willing to. receive orders from her—cut off
from all intercourse with her—offended against, and yet not con¬
tending—not revenging unreasonable conduct, lest I should have
no posterity.

[Concluding sentences, 55c ^pJo ’These are the Feet, JJfJJ It is
from Heaven ! It is Fate ! It is Fate ! It is definitely appointed by
Destiny ! Thus it is that the superior man has a life-long anxiety.

To the view of the Outer Barbarian, these modes of dealing
with the Chinese character (however common among the Chinese
themselves) may appear somewhat intricate, and a dawning doubt
of their possible practical utility may, perchance, intrude itself
upon his mind. All that has been already instanced is, however,
merely the elementary portion of the theory and practice of Chinese
Riddles—The primary arithmetic of linguistic enigmas, extending,
let us say, to the end of Compound Numbers and Vulgar Fractions.
There lies beyond a Wilderness of Sin, in which are to he found
Square and Cube Roots, Differential and Integral Calculuses,
Fluxions, Surds (and Absurds) and Quaternions. Of plunging into this
terrible terra ignota we have not the least intention. We will merely
beg the indulgent Reader, too long beguiled from his proper route,
to contemplate three remaining specimens of Cretan-like labyrinths.

(To be continued).

206

JESUS; TEE MODEL PREACHER TO THE HEATHEJf.

JESUS; THE MODEL PREACHER TO THE HEATHEN.

Rev. Eanpdcn C. DuBosk, 3.P.M.

(JoJtn 7-46 AVer wau spake- like this man)-

TESUS went up unto the feast of the tabernacles, not openly hut
as it were in secret. About the midst of the feast He went
into the temple and taught. “ How knowetb this man letters ?”
asked the Jew. “My doctrine is not mine but His that sent Me,”
answered Jesus. In the last day that great day of the feast, Jesus
stood and cried, saying, “ If any man thirst let him come unto me
and drink.”

A message came to the ears of the Pharisees that the Nazarene
taught boldly in the temple. Policemen were dispatched to arrest
Him. These officers stood in the rear of the vast throng that hung
upon the lips of the speaker. Listening, the swords hung loosely in
their scabbards and the point of the spear pricked their own hearts.
They returned to the Sanhedrim, assembled in state. The chief
priest arose amidst the seventy elders, and with stentorian voice
. demanded, Where is he ? W"by have- ye not brought him ? The
officers could only affirm,. “ Never man spake like this man.” The
reason assigned was unparalleled in the courts. Sometimes soldiers
answer, “The prisoner fled and we could not find him.” Sometimes,
“They were too strong and fought.” Here the simple reason,
We could not arrest a man who preached like the son of Joseph.

The eloquence of Jesus 1 History does not record an instance
of a man who could hold spell-bound six or eight thousand in the
open air from early morn till near sunset. Where among the
statesmen of Greece or Rome, England or America, an orator like
unto Jesus of Nazareth? Grace was poured into his lips. We
are so accustomed to look at the truth Jesus spake, that we forget
the grace with which that truth was clothed.

The China Pulpit! Is the Missionary to fix the standard for
the future ministry ? Are we to “ draw men unto uskeep them
fixed in their seats; awake their attention and arouse their interest ?
What an arena for the use of the “best gifts”! A rich language,
a fertile literature, a wealth of idiom, pointed illustrations, apt
proverbs, classic quotations, the flowing speech of the Orientals,
animated delivery, “mouth riches” as they say here must be sought
for. Yet there must be great “plainness of speech” for “the
common people heard Him gladly/’ Jesus is the great prophet
of Israel. He likewise exercises his prophetical office among the
G entiles. The theme now is

June.] JESUS; THE model preaches to the heathen.

207

JESUS, THE MODEL PREACHER T0 THE HEATHEN.

The servant of Christ hears the command, Go, Preach. He
finds himself among a strange people with strange tongue and
he asks, how shall I preach ? Who is sufficient for these things ?
He then listens to the sweet voice of the Master, Follow Me ! The
reader of the Gospels notes that the discourses are

ERAOMENTARY.

Save the sermon on the Mount, the seven parables in Matt. xiii.
the foretelling of the destruction of Jerusalem and the farewell
words at the last Passover no long sermons are recorded. His dis
courses were not arranged according to the severe forms of logic,
but our Lord passed from one topic to another nearly related to it,
the different parts of his sermon connected like the rooms in a
house opening one into the other, or like the paths in a garden
leading frem one bed of flowers to another. As he probably talked
on the same subject on various occasions it is impossible to reduce
his words to a system in a “ Harmony.”

Missionary preaching is of the same kind. In the street
chapels men pass in and out so a subject must be presented in ten
or fifteen minutes, and the minister passes on to a topic of kindred
import, from sin to repentance, to faith, or an a reverse order as
from rewards to punishments, so that a sermon is like a train of
cars coupled together, a series of sennonettes linked so as to form a
unique whole.

ADAPTABILITY.

A striking feature of our Lord’s preaching is its adaptability
to the heathen world. Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles, yet
of all his Sermons to the heathen only the one on Mars Hill is
recorded. David and Isaiah were gospel evangelists but from their
writings only now and then a text suited to the capacity of the
pagans can be chosen. All Scripture is suited for the instruction
of the disciples on the Lord’s day, but not for those who know not
God. The words of Jesus however fib the Asiatic mind. At night
serviees for three years expository lectures were delivered on the
Gospels, taking the general more than the specific sense and the un¬
taught heathen understood the truth. Many at home ask us about
the language of China; children and parrots can learn to talk but
the preacher must learn the idiom of thought. It is to find the native
channels and let the discourse run in these. The illustration, like
a mirror, must be turned at the right angle to flash the light into
the eye of the mind. The form of thought is just as important
as the form of speech. Just as the coyer fits the dish, the hat

208 JESUS; THE MODEL PREACHER TO THE HEATHEN. [May-

the head, or the shoes the feet, so do Christ's words fit the Chinese
mind. Wondrous Teacher! Theologians cannot fathom Wisdom’s
depths, yet pagan hearers appreciate their simple meaning !

A TENDER PREACHER.

• The sweet singer of Israel tuned Ins harp and sang, u Blessed
is the man." David’s son in his first sermon pronounced the
Beatitudes. The sages of Asia have left on record no sayings like
these. The Missionary must prove he comes to bless. “ I came
not to condemn the world;" it was to bless the nations. The pillars
and the doors of the chapel must' have “ love inscribed upon them
all.” In the presentation of truth love must shine as the sun of
the Christian religion. Some consider the Chinese rendering of
Gospel—“Happy Sound” as the must felicitous ear ever heard.

How well may the servants of God take heed to the exhorta¬
tion “ Behold my servant .... a braised reed shall be not break.”
How many bruised reeds we meet along these streets ! Because of
this tenderness u In Him shall the Gentiles trust." The disciple,
when he sees the multitude on heathen plains, is to have the spirit
of the Lord ; He had compassion on them.” In a land where men
are beasts of burden are there many heavy laden ? “ Come unto
Me!” 0! the load of poverty these people bear. Farms of one
or two acres at a rent of $2 a mow, which consumes nearly all the
harvest of rice. The crowded cities and men asking for work!
How much anxious thought simply for rice to sustain life ! Jesus
also says the anxious thought of Christians is heathenish ; “ After
these things do the Gentiles seek.” “ Himself took our infirmities
and bare our sicknesses.” The blind, the lame, the deaf, the leper
sang of the beloved physician. The hireling priests and the geutle
shepherd are opposite characters. The good Samaritan finds many
ready to perish.

Jesus is also our great exemplar in that

HE PREACHED THE LAW. .

He laid the axe at the root of the tree, sin. Not one jot or
tittle of the law is to be set aside in the application of the diviue
law to the Gentiles. Murder, they say, is crime.’ How about anger?
On arch and gateway is engraved, (< Of ten thousand wickednesses
fornication is the chief.” Doth thine eye offend ? Why preach the
law ? Did not the Moravian Missionaries preach the law for years
to the Icelanders with no visible results, and when one day the text
was selected, Cf God so loved the world,” numbers were gathered
into the church? True, but first came the law and by the law
the knowledge of sin. During the last few years I have carefully

Jane.] jisus; the model preacher to the heathen. 209

noted that old men seem to have no sense of sin. A seared
conscience seems to accompany a heathen old age.

If any listen to our preaching and say, "This is an hard
saying” we can answer as Jesus, “Doth this offend you?” And
state, as he did, doctrines still more repugnant to the carnal mind.

Was it a Chinese woman that lost that piece of money? Are
the ninety and nine all out of the fold ? Are there many prodigals?
We must tell of the lost.

The Saviour corrected the mistaken views of sin. “ Who did
sin, this man or his parents that he was horn blind ?” is a common
question in China. The blind sit by the road side aud cry “ Before
my eyes is hell,” as they consider the miseries of this life are like
unto torments of the other world. Constantly in the chapel men
speak out and say, “How about those the thunder kills?” This is a
special visitation of Heaven on account of daring sin, so the Tower
of Siloam is often used.

JESUS SET FORTH HARDSHIPS.

Our Lord did not deceive his followers as to the terms of
discipleship. They must drink of the cup and be baptized with the
baptism. They were to be hated, slandered, scourged, persecuted,
delivered up, murdered. Also persecution was blessed. A gentle¬
man sat in the chapel listening to “ bearing the cross.” “ What!
to eat bitterness all this life just with the little hope of Heaven
hereafter ? That won't pay, that won’t pay.

A teacher in this city reading about the “mother of Jesus
being without” said to a friend, “That was strange conduct in
Jesus. One of the sages would have gone immediately to honor
His mother.”

PHARISEES.

Blessed in Matt. v. and “woe” in Matt. mi. are pronounced
an equal number of times. Where is there a land of Pharisees like
unto China.

The “ righteousness ” of the Confucianist. A reward is due
his good works. Did we let them put the “ new wine” of Chris¬
tianity into the “ old bottles” of Confucianism they would gladly
accept the former. They are Judaizing teachers. They, the literati ,
have the “ key of knowledgethey neither go in themselves, nor
suffer them that are entering in to go in.” Just as the Pharisees
blew a trumpet, “Ho! all ye poor,” so the Chinese let not only their
own left hands know, but also the left hands of all their neighbors.
They “ seek glory of men.” The leaven of the Pharisees’ poisonous
doctrine is hard to eradicate. They contest “ the uppermost seats.”

•210 JESUS j THE MODEL PREACHER TO TEE HEATHEN. [May-

They “ tithe the mint and the anise.” To misuse printed paper, to
offend against etiquette, to eat beef, are great sins.

On no occasion did our Lord more fully set .an example to
winners of souls than when He conversed with the

SAMARITAN WOMAN.

Jesus sat at the well. On the one side was mount Gebal, ou
the other Mount Gerizim. The hundreds of thousands of Israel
were accustomed to asssemble in this great auditorium. From the
summit of one the Levite could read the Blessings, and from the
other a mile distant the Curses of the law would be read, and every
ear could hear. Jesus was weary, but not too weary to preach;
hungry, but “His meat was to do the will of Him that sent Him.”
There was not an audience of the thousands but one lone woman.

A simple request for a drink of water. What I you a foreigner
ask me t He took the text,- If ijou knew 10 /ie it is. But, Sir, you
have nothing to draw with. Like all the Chinese women she had
taken her bucket with a long rope to let down into the well beside
her “ water pot.” We are often told preach simply. See the Master
dealing with a soul. He took one of the mysteries of redemp¬
tion, the water of life—and unfolded it to an ignorant woman.

Sir, give me this water; it is very tire-some to come here so far
to draw. It is just as the Chinese say, “ If we eat your church, what
benefits will we have ? Will our business improve ? Will we have
work ? Is there any money in it ? ” Note the gentleness of Christ.
He did not say, you stupid foolish woman; talk to you of eternal
life and you only think of saving work ! No ! He enlightened her
mind. “ Go, call thy husband.” Had he struck her with a club he
could not have more astonished her than when in a panoramic view
the sins of a life passed before the eye. She feels her sins. It is
“a prophet” who speaks. She then, as the Chinese do, tried to
turn off the subject by talking of her ancestors.

The Speaker then unfolds to her the nature of spiritual worship,
and that God is a Spirit. Listening to these immortal words, she
exclaimed, When Messias cometh 1 She went into the city and said,
is not this • the Christ ? Thus step by step she was led to know
what was hid from the wise and prudent. In the kingdom of grace
a poor sinful woman was chosen as the first Missionary to the
heathen and by her instrumentality many men said “We know that
this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”

ILLUSTRATIONS FROM NATURE.

Mark the preaching of Jesus. The Mountain 5 How pleasant
to tell of mountains made sacred by the foot of the Son of Man,

June,] JESUS; THE ifODEL PREACHER TO THE HEATHEN. 211

while here the idols love the hills. Salt. As this is such an
important source of revenue, and the salt-commissioners such high
Mandarins, the Chinese appreciate the figure. Where can we better
illustrate “ letting down the net ” and becoming “ fishers of men ”
than in this well-watered land ? In a country where agriculture is
the chief employment, they know well of the sower. From among
the wheat the Chinese pick out the little round black tares. The
mustard seed here becomes a large bush. You see them taking
two little pieces of leavened dough, the size of your little finger, put
them twisted into boiling oil and it comes out a foot long and as
large as the arm. The trade in goodly pearls is extensive. When
Soochow was taken by the T f ai-pings the floor of nearly every house
was dug up in the search for hid treasure. The “ narrow way,”
the canals in the cities with boats often jammed; densely thronged
passages five or six feet wide called streets. Are we to “ prepare
the way.” A hundred years ago the Emperor Kien-Iung came to
Soochow. Messengers came beforehand and built an “Imperial
High-way” to the Great Lake, which is a paved road in good
condition to this day.

The great prophet like unto Moses enjoined

FORGIVENESS

As an essential to salvation. The greatest indignity to a China¬
man is to be smitten on the cheek. What to turn the other also !
Love for enmity, blessings for curses, kindness for hatred, prayers
for persecutions. First be reconciled, then come to Church. These
commands are in the teeth of the teachings of Confucius, who when
asked, “What do you say concerning the principle that injury
should be recompensed with kindness ?” replied, “ With what then
will your recompense kindness? Recompense injury with justice,
and recompense kindness with kindness.” The sage, at another
time, “affirmed the duty of blood-revenge in the strongest and
most unrestricted terms.”

ARE THE CHINESE COVETODS ?

Do they love the world ? Are they the most worldly-minded
of all peoples? We are to exhort, “Lay not up for yourselves
treasures on earth.” How often thieves break through the walls !
Alas! how many garments the rust or mould corrupts in the rainy
season! “ Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”

Where a better text, “ He carried the bag and was a thief.”
This people only know professional thieves as thieves; dishonesty is
a small matter. “Oh! do not call that theft; we do not like to
hear the word.”

212

JESUSj TEtE JfODEL PREACHER EO THR HEATHEN. [May-
Jesus required of His followers

FAITH,

And promised immediate salvation. He offers to save the
vile, the drunkard, the opium-smoker from, their sins. The
preacher to the untutored heathen is to require him to arise,
and follow Jesus. Asking in faith, is the only condition of prayer.
We are to “upbraid the cities” for their unbelief. The Master
gives the reason why they hate the light and the reason those
who hear are “condemned already.” The Chinese need to know
personally of “sin, righteousness and judgment.” In a land
where “ death reigns ” what need there is of the third person of
the Trinity.

How many young heathen converts after they believe in Jesus,
like Andrew, findeth his own brother Simon; or like Philip, findeth.
a Nathaniel!

SINGLENESS IN WORSHIP

Is ordained by the Master. Two masters cannot be served.
God is one. Reverence is the sum of Confucianism, Love of Chris¬
tianity. The supreme love He directs to be given to God sweeps
away ancestors, heroes, spirits, gods. “ Lovest thou Me,” asked the
Saviour ? The same mouth bitterly says, “ I know that ye have not
the love of God in you.”

Passing through Canaan Christ found

HEATHENISH,

0 l the “ vain repetitions,” o-me-to-fuh, the prayer used before
every god. “Nigh with the mouth” as they chant their hooks.
“ What do you read in worship ? ” is their constant question. Go
to our city temple in Soochow. You find the venders of toys and
trinkets, punch and judy shows, a throng of the vile and the vaga¬
bond, truly a “ den of thieves.” “ Blind leaders of the blind,”—
the blind priests leading a blind people in dark ways. “ Give us a
sign,” we are constantly asked, “ something to look at; a picture,
an image, two characters, but how can we worship the unseen ?”
Buddhism has “ no power of the keys; ” no power of discipline. The
thief, robber, pirate first goes to the temple to worship. Do ancestors
return to this world ? A “ great gulf ” lies between. Are rewards
meted out on earth ? Dives and Lazarus answer. As meat defiles,
in order to “ escape from sin,” " to purify the heart,” millions are
vegetarians. We thank our blessed Lord for the words, “ Not that
which goeth into the mouth defileth a man.”

There is a Btriking similarity between the

June.] Jesus; the model preacher to the heathen. 213

CHINESE AND JEWS.

To have "no burial,” saith Solomon. The burial rites of
parents are most sacred; no duty to the state can set these asidet
"Let the dead bury the dead.” The "wedding garment” is an ap.
figure. As the marital relation is much lower than the parental, a
man is warned against listening to his wife, instead of to his father
and mother. "Leave father and mother and cleave to the wife”
settles the question. To check their critical spirit, we bid them
" judge not.” On all occasions they quote the Classics, so we are to
imitate the Master. "It is written,” "Jesus says,” must bo the
" authority” with which we speak. Where the bribe controls the
court, is not the "unjust judge” and appropriate subject? How
many preachei’S in China may say, " We have piped unto you and
ye have not danced; mourned unto you and ye have not lamented,”
presented the Gospel in its joyful aspects and ye have not seen its
beauty, told of judgment and hell and ye have been unmoved. The
Lord seeing the 4000, said to His disciples as He says to us, " Give
ye them to eat.” Did many follow Him for the “loaves and
fishes?” The disciple is not above His Lord. They were not
driven away, but after a pungent discourse, " mauy went back.”
That our words should be "yea and nay” forbids the constant
pointing to Heaven- and earth as their form of oath.

HEATHEN WOMEN.

The ministry of Jesus can be presented very pleasantly to the
women. Was His mother "blessed among women?” Was His
friendship to Mary and Martha strong ? Did Mary "choose the good
part” and “sit at Jesus feet ?” Who supported Him and His apostles
three years ? The ministering women. Were there many women and
only one disciple at the cross ? Who were earliest at the sepulchre ?
Was He anointed for His burial and has the fame thereof spread
abroad ? Could He say to an unfortunate,- " Go sin no moi’e.”

During His earthly ministry Jesus was an

ITINERANT.

He did not build a central church but went throughout the
coasts of Israel preaching. On the Sabbath His habit was to go
into the Synagogues; the other six days, the mountains, the deserts,
the sea, the cities and towns heard His voice. So Missionaries on
the Lord’s day preach to the converts and on the other days to the
multitudes in the street chapels. Note His work in the " villages.”
He sends His disciples "Wheresoever He should come.” They
" returned and told Jesus.” On their evangelistic journeys they
were to salute the Rouses and cities which they entered.

214 JESU3; THE MODEL PREACHER TO THE HEATHEN. [May-

THE FATHERHOOD OP GOD-

Frequently does the Son of Man refer to His Father. Honor¬
ing in this land the parents whom they have seen, we have the
basis of fear to God whom they havo not seem. They have a
proverb, “ Beget a son and then you will know a parent’s love.”
Heathenism does not teach that God is love. That the supreme
Deity may be their father is a new thought to them. A fondnesy
for children is a marked characteristic of the Chinese. We wish
them to be children of our Father who numbers their hairs. It is
pleasant to tell them of “ our Father’s house j” “ the many man¬
sions,” room for China’s millions. Well could Jesus say, “ Peace
I leave with you.”

THE MEDIATOR.

Christ continually says that “He came from the Father” and
was “sent by the Father.” In China we stand on high vantage
ground in presenting Jesus as Mediator. Sometimes when speaking
of our Lord as Redeemer, Saviour, Shepherd they do not fulls
catch the idea, but when we say “ Middle-man” they quickly know
the meaning. Renting a house there must be “ middle-men;”
buying property there is a surety; at betrothal there are “go-
betweens;” a clerk has one to introduce him and the latter must
replace goods lost; a servant must name parties who will be
responsible to his employers. It may be illustrated in a hundred
ways. It runs through the whole structure of Chinese society.
Constantly we are asked in the chapel, “If we join your church
do you want a security ?” “ Yes, we do; there is one Mediator

between God and man.” It is interesting to inquire how far their
gods, as the kitchen-god, are used as mediator’s between men and
the chief deity.

The doctrine of substitution is readily acquiesced in by them as
it is often practiced. Sometimes even a life is purchased for money
which goes to the benefit of the family. “ I lay down my life for
my sheep.” Christ, the head of believers, is their representative.
The Chinese government is a network of responsible agents. Every
branch of trade has a responsible head. A magistrate is responsible
for the lives of all in his district; if he docs not find the murderer
he loses office. The death foretold by himself is preached, though it
be foolishness to this people. From Golgotha flowed a stream which
separates Christianity from Confucianism, religion from morality.

SETS FORTH HIS GLORY.

The Chinese are willing to accept Jesus as a great teacher, the
western Confucius. Of the latter, only the 72 years of his life were

June.] JESU9; THE MODEL PREACHER TO THE HEATHEN. 215

known. Jesus could say, “ Abraham saw my day.” After his
death great things are known. His power over unclean spirits in
a land where they are “ all their life time subject to bondage” for
fear of demons needs to be forcibly dwelt upon. His power to for¬
give sins and the proofs thereof arrest the attention of those who
make pilgrimages to redeem their souls. The Light. Where 0 !
where to speak of the Light as in this darkness which may be felt!
The Truth. Does not this people “ love lying,” yea, “ delight in
lying ?” The Bread of Life ! The nation fainteth because of the
famine. Is He The Resurrection ? This week a man asked, “Where
is the grave of Jesus ?” Wheu speaking of the resurrection I always
use all the solemn earnestness it is in my power to command, yet, as
with Paul some mocked, so invariably they laugh. What! the dead
to rise ! They are to hear the voice of the Son of Man. The King.
“ Art thou a king ?” All power is given unto Him ; they are subject
to Him whether willing or not. 0 ! let the minister follow Jesus
in making the second coming of the Son of Man a constant topic.
Have you ever seen Jesus?” is asked us. “No, but these eyes
shall see Him.” The Judgment, Their old year’s night, wheu
every account is settled, every debt paid, when financial judgment
is laid to the line and the debtor seeks a hiding place, is a type of
the final day. “ The good has the good reward, the evil has the
evil reward.” How long ? “And these shall go away into ever¬
lasting (aionion) punishment; but the righteous into life eternal
(aionion).” When the joys of the righteous cease, only then will
the pains of the wicked be at an end.

In closing, the questions of a Buddhist priest at Pootoo come
to my mind.

“ How do you employ your time ?”

“I preach in the chapels.”

“ What else do you do ?”

“I sell some books.”

“Well, what else.”

“I have to study in order to prepare for preaching.”

“Then what else do you do?”

“I have a good many Mission affairs to transact.”

“ That is what you do for others, what do you do for yourself ?*

The servant calls to mind the command of the First Missionary,
“ watch ye therefore, and pray always.”

210

SZECHUEN NATIVE OPIUAI.—A REVIEW.

[May-

8ZECHUEN NATIVE OPIUM.—A REVIEW.

By Dr. J. Dudgeon.

"11/fR. SPENCE, acting British Consul at Ichang, has favoured the
public with a report on native opium in the province of
Szechuen. We have here the results of his inquiries regarding
opium made during the course of the four months he spent there.
He tabulates his information under 16 heads followed by a resume
and these we propose, seriatim, briefly to pass in review.

1. We are introduced first to the districts of Szechuen in which
•opium is grown. There can be no doubt whatever as to the yearly
extending character of the growth. In 1872 Richthoven reported
that the poppy was cultivated only on hill slopes of an inferior sort;
now it is seen on hill and valley on land of all kinds. Now it is
carried on in every district of the province excepting those on the
west frontier. In some of the prefectures it is the principle, and in
parts almost the only winter crop. Richthoven anticipated an
increase in the growth from the induction of the very heavy restric¬
tions of the Government so as to enable it to compete at Hankow
presumably with the foreign drug. The increase now is said not
to be from the cause just alleged but from economic reasons. It
is a winter crop and so does not interfere with rice, the staple food
of the people, displacing only subsidiary crops such as wheat, beans
and the like. In the North of China, at least, beans is not a winter
crop. It cannot hardly therefore he asserted of Szechuen that the
cultivation of the poppy seriously interferes with the food supplies.
Why the use of the words “ hardly” and “ seriously” if, as stated,
the food or rice supplies remain the same and the opium is so
much additional gain less the value of the crops which it displaces ?
In the northern half of China where wheat is so important an
article of food, the cultivation of opium seriously interferes with the
food supplies. It prevents, likewise, the transport of wheat to the
northern provinces in time of drought. Wheat is the most precari¬
ous crop in five or six of the northern provinces from the want
of snow in winter and early rain in April. The present Governor of
Shansi in a late memorial to the Throne charges opium seriously
with impoverishing the land for the other crops. It eats up
what he calls the “ water strength” of the land, and in a droughty
region like the North this is no small matter. The general opinion
of the Chinese is to the same effect. How far this is, however,
justified by the facts of the case I have personally no means of
judging. But if true, it is a most vital point and one which demans

June.] 8ZECHUEN NATIVE 0PID1T.—-A REVIEW. 217.

attention and is altogether overlooked. When the argument of
opium being a winter crop is adduced we should like to know some¬
what definitely what the production per acre amounts to of opium
and non-opium land sown with cereals. The diminished product,
if so, of later crops on opium grown land ought also to be taken
into the calculation. The Vicar-apostolic of North-west Szecliuen
writes, “Although the cultivation is profitable to individuals by
increasing their income it is seriously injurious to society. The land
occupied by opium does not produce grain in the spring season and
is greatly injured for the production of rice in the summer, so that
frightful famines which sometimes depopulate provinces are caused
thereby as has been heard within the past year or two.”

2. In regard to the tenure of land we are told that all lands
in Szecliuen pay their rent by a fraction of the summer crop. The
owner alone pays the Government land tax. The winter crop is
the tenant’s own and therefore his great source of profit and it is
this fact which makes the opium cultivation profitable. We are
not told what this fraction amounts to. No percentage of the
winter crop being due to the landlord has, as might naturally
have been expected, stimulated the opium cultivation. In the
following paragaph we are told that wheat pays little or no rent.
I have some difficulty in reconciling these two statements. It is
immediately added “of late years the owners of land, becoming
alive to the value of the opium crop, have stipulated in addition for
a share of this also. As a natural result opium farm rents have
doubled.” In Chihli occupiers of land pay as rent half the produce
of the soil both of winter and summer crops of which the winter
crop, by reason of no weeding being .required and its relatively
greater value in the market, pays best.

8. We have here a comparison of opium versus wheat profits—
a very important question. The figures given make opium to the
owner who farms his own land, twice as valuable as wheat; the
advantage to the occupier depends upon his rent. The other poppy
products such as capsules sold to the druggist, oil, used for light¬
ing, from the seeds, the oil cake and leaves for manure and the
stalks for potash are turned to account; but against this is set the
manure and labour which opium requires and which wheat doe9 not.
In districts remote from market towns opium has the advantage
over wheat in case of carriage.

4. In regard to the method of cultivation, we are informed that
it is now grown most profitably on good land with liberal manuring.
The seeds are sown in December, the rows are thinned in January

218

SZECHCEN 2UTIVE OPIUM.—A REVIEW.

[May-

In • March or April they bloom. White, red and purple varieties
are to be seen, the former the most common in the low grounds. In
April and May the capsules are slit and the juice extracted; this
raw juice evaporates into the crude opium of commerce, increasing
in value as it decreases in weight.

5. Government interference with the cultivation ceased some
15 years ago and before that time it had been fitful and ineffective.
The cultivation is now said to be unfettered, free and open to all.
There is no system of excise, no licensing and no taxation on the
producer or product in situ. Opium not in transit pays nothing to
the state. The rural opium smokers smoke the untaxed product of
their district. In transit the lekiu tax amounts to 3 per cent ad
•valorem and the barrier dues on opium iu transit to the east about
30 or 40 taels. Fuchow is the chief port of export eastward and
in 1879 the lekin official reported over 40,000 piculs of duty paid
opium, thus bringing into the provincial exchequer over 1 million
taels. Fengtu is another centre although of much less importance
than Fuchow. Altogether it is calculated that the provincial
revenue from this source amounts to 1^ millions of taels annually.

6. Although the dues are not excessive, smuggling is never¬
theless carried on in a prevalent, profitable and easy manner. The
lekin official at Fuchow estimates it to be nearly as much as the
duty paid opium.

7. This paragraph deals with the manner in which the transit
trade is carried to the east. It does not go by the Yangtse but
over the mountains to a port on the great river some 60 miles below
Ichang from whence it is sent in regular trade channels east and
south. The boat trackers up the river are the persons engaged in
the land carrying trade; the down river trip not requiring so many
of a crew and besides no wages are paid on the down trip. In 1880
at Hankow 927 piculs of opium passed the custom house and in
1881, 3,581 piculs. As far as the Maritime Customs is concerned,
the Indian and Szecliuen drug are placed nearly on an equal footing.
The latter drug after bearing all manner of dues cn route ia still
sold greatly under the price of the Indian drug, being about taels
300 a chest against the Indian which is about double this amount.
It is evident the Indian Government derives a large manufucturer’s
profit on the drug.

8. The native opium is adulterated to the extent of 30 per cent
with oil, glue and other innocuous rubbish and abominations of
various sorts to add to its strength. In price it varies in Szechuen
from taels 176 to 224 per picul.

SZECHUEN NATIVE OPICM.—A REVIEW.

219

June.]

9. We have here a paragragh on Yunnan opium. In 1875 the
Grosvenor mission reported that fully 1/3 of the whole cultivated
area of the province was devoted to opium in winter. The province
is now rapidly recovering from the desolation produced by th9
Pauthay rebellion and opium is now being extensively grown. In
1875 the estimate was 25,000 piculs, now it is said to be nearly
double. These and nearly all such figures are mere guesses and
therefore of no great weight. “ It is impossible to get correct anti
reliable statistics about opium. Being grown privately and against
law, secrecy is in general maintained and the statistics furnished arc
not to be relied upon. The remarks of Mr. Holwell in his Customs
Report of Kiukiang are most just. “It is. next to impossible to
obtain with any degree of certainty the total quantity of native
opium produced in the province of Kiangsi. Native testimony
differs widely; some say the poppy is not cultivated at all, some
that a few piculs are grown, while others state the production to be
several hundreds of piculs. My own opinion is, and this is based
upon inquiries made in several parts of China, that Natives are
inclined to exaggerate the quantity of opium this country produces.
They have no statistics to guide them in their judgments and when
questioned by Foreigners as to the quantity of native opium
produced, I think show an inclination to represent it as greater
than facts would warrant, in order to point out that its increased
production is driviug the Foreign drug from the field.” I had it
on undoubted authority that Governor-General Tso did keep in
check very materially the growth of the poppy in two provinces
over which he had jurisdiction, but I hear later that the growth is
again spreading since the late famine.

10. In regard to the prevalence of opium smoking in the west
of China, the R. C- missionaries of whom there are about 100,
estimate that 6/10tlis or 60 per cent of the -whole male adult popula¬
tion of the province smoke opium. In the official correspond¬
ence presented to Parliament Mr. Spence gives the R. C. estimate
at l/10th. Which is right? I presume the report as printed at
Shanghai is the correct estimate. Mr. Parker, a very competent
authority and a consular official who travelled all over the thickly
settled parts of the province estimated the smokers thus:—
Labourers and small farmers 10 per cent.

Small shop-keepers ... ... 20

Hawkers and soldiers ... ... 30

Merchants ... ... ... 80

Officials and their staffs ... 90

Actors, prostitutes, vagrants, thieves 55

JJ

>9

220 SZECHUJEN NATIVE OPIUM.—A KEVIEW. [May-

This is certainly higher than we have anywhere in Chihli.
Among the merchants and officials the habit prevails extensively.
The first three classes cannot be said to be high for an opium pro¬
ducing province. It speaks favourably for the labourers and small
farmers that their percentage is so low, more than double, however,
what it is in our metropolitan province. They are" we presume the
chief producers of the drug but not the chief consumers. Mr.
Spence differs from Mr. Parker and by placing the coolies in the
first class seeks to raise its percentage. But he adds “ whatever be
the exact percentage of opium smokers in Szechuen in the whole.
population, it is certain that it is many times larger than in the east”
which is likely to be quite true. None I imagine will controvert this
view. He thinks, and doubtless thinks correctly, that the Inspector
General's estimate of 2/3 of 1 per cent does not apply to the West of
China. He does not, however, for a moment question it accuracy in
relation to the eastern seaboard provinces. The Inspector General's
percentage is for the whole population. Mr. Spence's statements
set aside completely the estimates of the Custom’s Yellow Book on
opium. “The impression one gets,” says Mr. Spence, “in a Sze¬
chuen village is that every one smokes and one is surprised to
hear on good authority that 40 per cent do not smoke.” But it is
40 per cent of the male adult population which does not smoke,
not of the entire population, thus reducing the percentage for
the general population still more. And this is the estimate of
the missionaries who have been in the province all their lives.
In Chungking, we are told, with a population of 130,000 there
are 1230 opium shops; in winter when the two rivers are crowded,
the population may amount to 200,000 and the opium shops to
2000. Each of these shops is calculated to sell daily not less than
2000 copper cash worth of prepared opium or at the smoker’s price
of 32 cash per mace, 6 oz. of opium. This gives 12000 oz. of
daily consumption (at the winter calculation of shops. Why he
should adopt the higher figure instead of the lower or a medium
one is not said) or 2740 piculs. Ichang with a population of
30,000 has 700 opium shops and by the same calculation we get
410 piculs consumed annually. In country hamlets and villages
the state of things is said to be just as extraordinary, almost every
second house being an opium shop. In some rural districts they
smear the lips of their idols with it and burn paper pipes and opium
at funerals, so that the dead may enjoy in th'e next world the
comfort and solace they loved in this. This practice is of very recent
origin although Mr. Spence does not refer to this point as Mr.

SZECHUEN NATIVE OPIUM.—A REVIEW.

221

June.]

Watters seems to have done. Mr. Spence tells us that in all this
vast region Indian, opium is unknown and, notwithstanding, he tells
us at the same time that only a few dozen piculs, elsewhere stated
to he 70, of it “reach Ch'ungkingyearly, where it is mixed with the
Yunnan drug (why not as well with Szechuen ?) and under the name
of Canton drug used for presents or for smoking on high days and
feasts of the rich.” How then can this Indian he said to be unknown ?
Among the higher officials and old smokers everywhere the foreign
drug is preferred and almost exclusively used. Chungking more¬
over is not all Szechuen and the Indian drug from Canton may come
via Yunnan as in former days by the caravans from Ava.

11. On the important subject of the effects of opium smoking
upon which so much controversy is waged at present and upon
which two such opposite views are maintained, we expected Mr.
Spence to have said more. But if there be but one opinion, as he
says, regarding its effects on the people, among whom it is so wide¬
spread, there was the less necessity for enlarging upon it. What is
admitted by all requires no laboured discussion. But is there but
one opinion about this subject. Three persons are quoted, Rich-
thoven, Baber and himself. All that the former says is of a negative
character. “ In no other province except Huuan did I find the effects
of the use of opium so little perceptible as in Szechuen.” Mr. Baber’s
evidence runs thus; “nowhere in China are the people so well-off, or
so hardy, and nowhere do they smoke so much opium.” Mr. Spence
is evidently of opinion that addiction to the drug is generally harm¬
less. He found the general health and well-being of the communities
remarkable and all travellers, he tells us, bear enthusiastic testimony
to their capacity for work and endurance of hardship.. Hasty obser¬
vers are rather apt, we are informed, to class those suffering from
wasting disease among the ruined victims. He saw some whose
health was completely sapped by smoking combined with other
forms of sensual excesses and no doubt there were others weakened
by excessive smoking simply, for excess in all things has its
penalty.” It is here implied though not expressed that moderate
smoking is, to say the least of it, harmless. He found the
Szechuenese stout, able-bodied men, better housed, clad and fed,
and healthier looking than the Chinese of the lower Yangtse.

In Mr. Spence’s Report, he does not inform us what Rich-
thoven’s view is of the evil effects. In turning to the Baron’s own
letter page 51 on Szechuen to the Shanghai Chamber of Com.
from which we have the above quotation, he adds whore Mr. Spenco
leaves off, “among the lower classes, probably because the weakness

222 SZECHUEN NATIVE OPIUM,—A REVIEW. [May-

of the drug diminishes its deleterious effects upon the constitution.”
This is a most important omission. The phrase “ among the lower
classes” doubtless refers to the native opium being smoked, whereas
among the higher classes the Indian drug would be the article in
demand. It speaks too of tbe weakness of the Szechuen opium,
caused by the abominable rubbish with which we are told it is
adulterated. It, of course, also implies that the Indian drug, by
reason of its strength is much more deleterious. And I need not
say that Chinese opinion and my own experience hear out the
Baron. The drugs here compared indicate in the Baron's view a
difference of degree not of kind. The whole sentence is not quoted
as it would hardly have suited the case. If we turn to the Baron's
letter on Hunan and Shansi, page 23, we find the sentence “ The
population of whole towns are disfigured by the haggard faces and
staring eyes consequent on the use of opium.” All that he says
of Szechuen is that the evil effects were less perceptible than what
he saw in Shansi.

Mr. Colquhoun’s testimony to the evil effects of opium smoking
is also un equivocal. He was of opinion that it bad a most injurious
effect upon the Chinese. The ill effects were made apparent to him
during his journey through Turman, through close intercourse with
the people in the march, in the inn or some peasant's house, hut not
infrequently he met mandarins being carried in their sedan chairs
under the influence of the drug, lying sunk in a heavy sleep while
they were conveyed over some precipitous road. A significant fact
was that nearly all the mandarins with whom he conversed and
exchanged presents asked first if he had any European medicine for
the cure of the evil habit of opium smoking. The evidence of
a correspondent of the North China Daily News at T’ai-yuen-fu
in Shansi (Col. Mesny ?) is to the same effect. “The Governor has
the greatest difficulty in finding trustworthy officials to assist him
in carrying out his plans of reform....Most of those on his staff are
opium smokers and they never receive any visitors for fear of being
denounced for their viciousness. Since this Governor's arrival,
the receptions held every fifth day at the palace have been so early
that most of the opiumists stay up all night, fortifying them¬
selves for the coming day with opium. You can generally tell the
heaviest smokers, as they have a haggard look and droop their
shoulders and try to find some support for their emaciated frames
long before the receptions are over. Some opium takers manage
to fortify themselves by taking an occasional pill of opium * some
carry a mixture of opium diluted in whisky in a metal flask, from

June.] SZECHUEN NATIVE OPIUM. — A REVIEW. 223

which they take an occasional suck, the smell of the whisky dispell¬
ing that of the opium very effectively.”

Mr. Spence tells us the opinion of the R. C. missionaries as to
the prevalence of the habit. He is silent as to their concurrence
with his one opinion about the effects of it. As he credits them
with opportunities of observation denied to travellers, arising out of
their being stationed in large numbers all over the province and
living amongst the people, he will not surely withhold his approval
of their unanimous and unequivocal condemnation of the use of
opium. Cardinal Manning has kindly sent the Anti-opium Society
the reply of the assembled Bishops to the Sacred Congregation for
the Propagation of the Faith in response to questions sent, one of
which was concerning the use of opium:—

“ The Vicars-apostolic in Synod assembled unanimously con¬
demn both the trade in and use of opium (even the moderate use).
For its effects are recognized by all to be so injurious both to
society and to families and to individuals, that that poison is to be
entirely forbidden.” A question regarding the toleration of opium
cultivation by Christians was also brought up on the same occasion
and referred to the Holy See for decision. Some were in favour
of allowing it, because it was preventing thousands from
join mg the church and exposed to poverty and ruin those who
abandoned the cultivation. This view was stoutly opposed by the
Vicar-apostolic of Szcliuen who says that opium, although
producing good effects in Europe where it is used as a medicine, is
scarcely used by the Chinese for any good effect, but always on the
contrary, it produces very ill effects. Many honest pagans, he
said, condemn so noxious a poison and abstain from its cultivation.
He concludes thus, “If therefore the missionaides tolerate the
cultivation which is both prohibited by law and condemned by
honest men, both Christians and heathen would be scandalised.”

Mr. Spence, in speaking of the general health and well being of
the community as remarkable should remember that the habit is not
universal and that the smokers, the heavy ones at least, are chiefly
in-doors enjoying the pipe and that therefore the vice ought not to
be so perceptible on the streets of China. In this respect it differs
widely from the effects of spirits at home.

In speaking on this subject I would also remark that men's
powers of observation differ greatly. Take foreigners as a whole
and ask them to point out a eunuch or a Buddhist nun from among
a crowd of people and I very much doubt if any would be successful
without first pointing out the essential characteristics of these two

224 SZECHUEN NATIVE OPIUM.' — A REVIEW. [May-

classes. So it may be in regard to opium. I have myself found it
so among many of my foreign friends and not a few Chinese also.

I have put it to the test with my Chinese assistants and I have been
struck with the difficulty experienced sometimes in detecting the
vice. In the confirmed cases of course there is no such difficulty.

I have known some foreigners of an unsuspecting character, who
could have no proof of a smoker unless the man himself confessed to
it. I have the very greatest respect for the gentlemen who have
filled the isolated and responsible post at Chungking and I reckon
them among my warmest personal friends. I hope, therefore, they
will not consider me unkind in thus discussing the subject. Nothing
I could say, even could I do so, would detract from the high esteem
in which they are held by all who know them. But in this matter
of the effect of opium I think their observations, had they been
more extended, would have been different. In a late discussion on
Buddhist Devotion I was referring to Buddhist practices as seen on
the streets of Peking when a gentlemen rose and remarked that he
had been in Peking some years and had never seen what the speaker
referred to. The things were too obvious not to Lave been seen by
nearly all present. It is the old question of eyes and no eyes. This
gentleman, I need hardly remark, was very near sighted and wore
spectacles. I would advise those who go into opium-smoking
regions not to wear glasses and. especially coloured ones !

12. Hero we have the mode in which the Szechuen consumption
is calculated. He objects to the 3 mace average by the Customs
and takes 1 mace as nearer the mark. In view of the adulteration,
Mr. Parker’s table of the class percentage of smokers and of
the province being a large opium producing one, we think Mr.
8pence makes the average daily allowance too low. Between mer¬
chants and officials we have 85 per cent all able to afford it. The
native drug is smoked almost entirely and is less injurious than the
Indian drug. When a man is able to afford it, my experience is that
he docs not long confine himself to 1 mace, nor even 3 mace. With
30 per cent of abominable non-opiate mixtures and a small daily
habit of 1 maco, it is perhaps not to be wondered at that among
the lower classes the evils of the habit are less perceptible than else¬
where except Hunan. In respect of Hunan, I would here observe
that the opposition to opium cultivation in the province has always
been marked. It is the province from which China draws the
largest number of her high officials and where the largest number
of retired officials live. In fact I have been told on good authority
that opium is nowhere cultivated in that province. This, however,
I hardly credit altogether. That it is very small I can well believe.

June.] SZECHUEN NATIVE OPIUM.—A REVIEW. 225

I think therefore that 3 mice daily for each smoker would not
be too high for Szechuen. This is the average determined at the 19
Treaty Ports and at the various Hospitals and Asylums from Peking
to Canton where native opium or rather native and Indian mixed
are chiefly used. If this be so, then the calculation of the daily
quantity consumed would be raised from about Ud as against 3d
for the Indian drug to three times this amount. Prom the amount
consumed “ due deduction/ 3 to use Mr. Spence’s own words which
are an unwittingly eloquent but disguised commentary on the evil
of the habit, “will have to be made for re-smoked opium, for I must
explain that three tao or “drawings 33 are often smoked from one
charge, and from opium undulterated sometimes as many as five.
The leavings of the rich smoker are mixed with the opium sold to
the poor, the refuse of the poor is smoked by him again and the
unsmokable dregs are drunk in tea by labourers, sailors and others
who have not time to knock off for a smoke. An ounce of crude
opium is often worked up in this way to weigh 1 2/3 of prepared,
although if unadulterated it would only turn out about ( to oz. or
even less. 3 It is obvious there is a strength in the addition of the
ashes. This is a valuable form of adulteration and one now
invariably resorted to at the shops and without which the prepared
opium would not satisfy the craving of the smokers. 33 After such a
picture as that just described by Mr. Spence, it requires' no words
to tell that the evil effects of the drug, the smoking and the eating,
must be very obvious. Well might the degradation of the people
spoken of by some travellers be the consequence of the wide¬
spread use of the drug.

13. The next paragraph takes up the amount consumed in the
province. The population of Szechuen is taken at 26 millions. He
says he would he justified in putting it at 35,000,000 but he deems
it more prudent to take a low estimate. He estimates the male
adults at one-fourth, 1/4, of this number or 6,500,000. He takes 30
per cent of the male adults as smokers making in all 1,950,000 and
of women and youth 250,000, in all 2,200,000 smokers of 1 mace
per day. Why he should have adopted 30 instead of 60 per cent, the
estimate given by the missionaries, or 30 per cent intead of 10 per
cent according to the official correspondence I cannot understand.
He does not indicate by what standard he calculates the number of
women and youth. The total amouut smoked in Szechuen per
annum is put down at 50,000 piculs of prepared drug (or exactly
49,500). He takes credit for his low estimate of population, a low
estimate of male adult smokers, with a small average all around for

226 SZECHDEN NATIVE OPIUM.—A REVIEW. [May-

each smoker daily. He feels certain lie has arrived at the minimum
consumption in the province. It may be much more, it likely is,
but it cannot be less. To produce this quantity, 71,000 piculs of
crude opium would be required, but owing to adulteration probably
that amount is made from as little as 60,000 piculs of crude. Of
Yunnan opium there are 5000 piculs smoked in districts west of
Chungking and 70 piculs of Indian and a few piculs of other
growths, making about 54,000 the amount locally grown and
consumed in the province. Why has Mr. Speuce adopted so low
a percentage as 30 when the facts warranted his adopting at least
double this number on the R. C. estimate ? Was it the difficulty of
making the amount consumed agree with the estimated production ?
If this would produce an almost impossible consumption and lead to
an absurdity, may we not suspect that the population is estimated
too high ? To take an example in point. The usual returns make
the population of the capital about 3 millions. It is extremely
improbable that there are more than 500,000, and certainly not over
1 million. The population of China is variously estimated at from
200 to 400 millions. The general tendency is to make it a much
less populous country than was at first believed. I would therefore
suggest to Mr. Speuce that he lower his estimate of the population,
increase the percentage of smokers and also their daily dose and
see how his figures then stand. The calculation of the 3 mace
average dose, diminishes by one stroke 2/3 of his supposed quantity
consumed and this cannot be made up by trebling the number
of smokers which is an absurdity. Since writing the above I have
had access to statistics privately presented to the Throne which
are unquestionably accurate and which give for Szechuen in 1882 a
population of only 23 millions, instead of Mr. Spence’s 26 and
probable 35 millions. And for Peking my guess of 1/2 million is not
far from the truth, the exact figures for last year, standing 482,327.

After the amount consumed in the province, there falls
naturally to be considered the amount exported. With all the
provinces growing pretty nearly all they need of native growth,
it is remarkable to learn of so large an export from Szechuen,
according to Mr. Baber in 1879, 130,000 piculs. In 1878, the
lekin officials at Fuchow gave the export eastward as 70,000
piculs of which 40,000 were declared and duties paid thereon.
The export to Shensi was about 1/4 of this and in other directions
and from other parts of the province 43,000 piculs were sent
out. Of this total export 7,000 piculs was Yunnan opium re¬
exported leaving 123,000 piculs locally grown. One is tempted

June.] SZECHUEN NATIVE OPIUM.—A HEVIEW. 227

here to wish for more precise data upon which these figures
are based. The amount over the lekin-officially-declared 40,000
must be an estimate of the quantity smuggled and we know
how difficult such calculations are. We are not vouchsafed the
least shadow of proof, and we are driven, like the Inspector General,
to accept them as so many guesses. It is admitted that the export
to Shensi and Shansi had fallen off to some extent. In another
place the reason assigned for the cheapness of Yiinnan opium in
1881, is that Shensi and the North-west, to which in former years
a considerable quantity of Yiinnan opium was sent, now produce
opium of a singularly fine quantity worth in Chungking Tls. 30
per 100 oz. (t'.e. twice the price of the native Szecbuen) in quantity
sufficient to supply nearly all local requirements. Now it appears
that the forme)' years when Shansi required to import Yunnan
opium, is a very great while ago and now that Shansi not only
meets her own requirements hut is a large exporting province
also, even sending some to Chungking. How then about the 1/4
of the Szechuen recognized-officially-duty-paid-export being sent
North ? And he adds, when remarking about the fine opium from
the North-west which appears on the Szechuen market, “This
fact is a fitting commentary on the statement made last year
by Tso Tsung-tang when Governor General of the North-west that
he had uprooted the poppy throughout his jurisdiction.” This
cuts in two ways. If he did not uproot the poppy, why the necessity
for the Szechuen export to that quarter ? Mr. Spence thinks the
Eastern export to be now much larger than when Mr. Baber
wrote but he has no definite and precise information as would
warrant any great alteration. We are told that Mr. Baber’s figures
may be taken to be as accurate as the nature of the subject will
admit. This we readily grant. Mr. Baber, anticipating objections
that might be raised, says that his figures were not based on bald
answers to leading questions, but on careful deductions from
observations and enquiries lasting for months or on information
voluntarily tendered by merchants and officials and substantiated
by collateral evidence. Even with all the care Baber necessarily
bestowed on the subject it is surrounded by innumerable and un-
surmountable difficulties. The estimates of the extent of the native
growth, as of the population, are as wide as the poles asunder,
so much so that careful writers discard all such estimates and
simply say the thing is unknown, which is a great deal safer. In a
conversation with Mr. Baber I was led to understand that the native
grown opium supplies both Szechuen and Yunnan; that a very

228

SZECHUEN NATIVE OPIUM.-—A REVIEW.

large percentage of the people smoke and that they export about
40,000 piculs by way of Fuchow and that some 15,000 more piculs
are smuggled, thus making in all not 60,000 exported. Mr.
Baber was inclined to double this to reach the production of the two
provinces, for I understood him to speak of both provinces. His
idea was that there was perhaps as much again grown in Shansi and
all the rest of China as in the two provinces. The production of the
two proviuces he was inclined to put at perhaps double that of the
imported article, thus quadrupling for all China the Indian amount.

15. In this paragraph we have the total production in Szechuen
and S.W. China. He gives us the following table.

Piculs.

54,000

123,000

35,000

10,000

2,000

Szechuen consumption, .

„ export less Yunnan re-export,

Yunnan consumption and export,
Kweichow „ „

South-west Hupei, .

224,000

Or 2 1/4 times the whole Indian import into China. The Sze¬
chuen production is thus put at 177,000 piculs per annum. Reckon¬
ing 50 ok. as the average produce of a Chinese mow of land or 333
oz. per acre, this produce is the winter harvest of 850,000 acres and
at Tls. 200 per picul, represents a money value oE Tls. 34,000,000.
He has not told us the extent of the arable land of the province and
what proportion this land devoted to opium bears, in other words
the relative production of opium and wheat. The Commissioner of
Customs at Hankow in 1879 reported on native opium in answer
to the circular sent to each port asking for information about the
consumption of opium. He replied that owing to the entire absence
of all reliable figures, the amount of opium put down within the
province and within the Empire must be taken as approximate only.
He was careful to collect information from various sources and this
was as carefully compared and verified as the means at hand would
allow. He was well situated to make tlie desiderated enquiries and
his estimate for the whole empire about equals the total amount
of foreign drug imported into Hongkong and Chinese ports.
The Inspector General has taken this estimate as the basis of his
calculation. The Commissioner’s estimate for Szechuen is 45,000;
Yunnan 17,000; Kweichow 12,000, and his own province 2000, the
production of the other provinces being inconsiderable i.e. 76,000
piculs out of a gross 98,000 for all China. But to proceed si ill
f&rther up the river and consequently nearer Szechuen, in fact to
Ichang, Mr. Spence’s own port, what do we find the Acting Deputy

Jane.] szechuen native opium.—a review. 229

Commissioner of Customs saying in his report in 1879 ? Ho adds
no memoranda by way of explanation; but we have liis table and he
puts down the growth of Hupeh, his province, at 2000, the same as
the officer at Hankow, and for all China, 25,000, about 1/4 less than
that of the Hankow report. This is certainly very striking and if
not true or approximative indicates great ignorance and apathy on
the part of Mr. Edgar. In contrast with this, wo have Mr. Drew’s
report from Ningpo, the most distant port from Szechuen giving
statistics collected from Richthoven and Baber. He gives the
production of Szechuen at from 60,000 to 100,000; Yunnan (more
than Szechuen, according to Baber) 80,000; Kweicbow 15,000 and
his own province Chehkiang at 10,000. The total for the Empire,
being based on similar statistics does not differ from that of Mr.
Spence, viz 265,000 piculs or 2 1/4 times that of tbe Indian import.

The 16th paragraph takes up the effect in 1881 of opium export
on exchange, currency and trade. f ‘ In 1878 the export eastward
amounted to Tls. 14,000,000 and towards the close of 1881 involved
the general trade of the province in difficulties. Silver goes from
West to East and so does opium. Until a year or two the drain
of silver to the opium districts caused no great inconvenience; it
eventually finds its way back to Chungking, where the trade of
the province financially centres. But in 1880 a new system of
collecting the salt revenue was established, which withdrew and
kept locked up about five millions, of taels. The memorial of
Tso Tsung-tang at the same time, an officer who had the highest
influence with the Peking Government, relative to his recommenda¬
tion to largely increase the duty on native and foreign opium,
created a rush to buy Szechuen opium for the anticipated rise.
The result was a silver famine; the weaker merchants and bankers
were driven to the wall; silver was unduly appreciated; that is
everything for which silver is exchanged, foreign goods and native
produce was unduly depreciated, iu short the derangement of
the general trade of the province for a time. Great losses were
incurred, especially of dealers iu piece goods. In the absence
of telegraphs the banks think that the liability to large fluctuations
in opium will put tbe trade in a constant position of unstable
equilibrium in future and make ordinary profit calculations and
forecasts impossible. These fears,” adds Mr. Spence, c< appear to be
justifiable.” Then follows a pregnant sentence, to tbe latter part of
which we desire to call particular attention. For Great Britain, not
India, it is the most important clause in the whole article and we
fear its value will be overlooked. ff Until the facilities for the

230 szechuen native opium.—a eeview. [May-

interchange of products are levelled up to the highly developed
system of exchange hanking, the principal effect of the great opium
export must remain what it is, to take money from where it is useful
and lock it up for a time where it is useless for trade purposes/’
and if the sentence stopped here we should not fear but that
telegraphs and steamers would soon bring about this desired end,
but it is added 11 and the profits which the opium districts make trill run
a risk of being made at the expense of the general trade of the province. 7 *
We have italicised these important words. That trade, we are told,
includes alike foreign goods and native produce. We were prepared
for this state of things and believe not only that it will run a risk
hut that it has already experienced there, as elsewhere, the evil
effects of opium production and consumption in the diminished
consumption of British piece goods.

And last of all we have Mr. Spence’s resume, the summing up
of the whole matter. Its deductions ar8 not altogether borne
out by the preceding premises, and therefore we find ourselves
regretfully obliged to differ from our friend. He has been more
careful in collecting his facts than in forming or expressing his
opinion upon them. And first he says u the limit of profitable
production ia impossibly far off.” If he means there is still more
arable land that will grow opium and that there are more people ia
Szeckuen and China generally to consume it, there cannot be the
slightest doubt that he is right. But if he means that the cultivation
can be infinitely extended and yet prove profitable we think his
own lucid statements speak to the contrary. Already it has dis¬
arranged the money market; must have enhanced the price of the
ordinary food supplies produced in the province and still more
the wheat imported from other provinces to make up for its own
want, and the best refutation we think is in the sentence just
quoted above. When in China does he expect those facilities he
speaks of to remove the difficulties of communication and the
lack of ready transport, so that the course of exchange and the
flow of the currency may readjust themselves to the new conditions
which the increase of the opium trade imposes on Szechuen trade ?
The food supplies will be enhanced to the natives of the province
although they should become connected with the. Bast by telegraph
and have steamers plying on the great waters of the province.
Again the cultivation is free and the law of demand and supply,
calculations of profit and loss and conditions of soil and weather
are the only natural causes which have affected it for years past
and now affect it. This is strange in face of the memorial of viceroy

Jane.] szechuen native opium. — a Review. 231

Tso, first referred to and of the Edict of the viceroy of the province
in paragraph five. He adds further on, among some of his own
obvious inferences that “ if it be remembered that a great extent
of the province is under opium cultivation, that the industry is now
a livelihood to countless families, that its product is deemed hy
millions to be essential to their daily happiness, the difficulty of
putting down the cultivation by force is apparent.” It is said to be
difficult not impossible. Opium being essential to their daily hap¬
piness must mean that the craving having been once established it
must be satisfied so as to ward off the discomforts of the non-grati¬
fication of the habit. It cannot be essential to their daily happiness
in the sense of food, clothing, houses and friends. If so essential
to their daily happiness is it not a strange feeling that the desire to
be relieved from this daily felicitous condition is so general 7 It is
not human nature nob to desire happiness and once obtained to try
to keep it, but Mr. Colquhoun tells us, and the experience of every
person who has travelled in China and mixed with the people will
corroborate its truth, that it is "a significant fact that nearly all
the mandarins (and he might have added the common people still
more) “ we met made their first enquiry as to whether we had any
European medicine for the cure of the bad effects of opium.” Mr.
Spence continues, “ The right of the people to grow and to smoke
opium has been for years unquestioned by their officials; to compel
them to surrender the right now, would be to provoke a rebellion.”
Edicts are still issued, proclamations are still posted, the legal and
moral conscience of the people is still being kept up to the old
standard and although, through the corruption of the officials and
especially of their attendants and the whole class of hangers-on,
most of which latter are opium smokers and live by extortion in
connection with the illicit opium cultivation, still we believe that the
right of the Father of his people, the Emperor, to stop the growth
would not be disputed by a single Chinaman anywhere. It is far
more probable that if the Government does not make some effort
soon to check the native growth, that a rebellion will ensue which
will upset the dynasty. It is the fear of foreign embroilments
which keeps back its hand and renders any action extremely
difficult. At present they are content to sail along. “ Even if the
Government were willing to incur the risk and determined to be
rid of opium, which it would be at present nonsensical to affirm,
success would require a vigorous executive, free from these faults.
But China has no such executive and no such armies. Even were
the prospect of a bond fide effort not a chimera, its success would be

232 SZECHtJEN NATIVE OPIUM.—A REVIEW. [May-

impossible.” The language here used is hardly consistent. First
we have the difficulty of putting down, next it would provoke a
rebellion. Again, success would require a vigorous executive and,
lastly, in spite of a sincere effort its success would still be impos¬
sible. Even with the executive China at present has, and she has
long been governed by children and women, she calls her satraps
from the remotest provinces to Peking and deposes them j she
crushes T'ai-p'ing, Pauthay, Mahommedan and local rebellions and
she recovers lost provinces. A vigorous Emperor on the Throne and
nothing is impossible. Even with the present executive, if they
had only courage to adopt a policy and seek to carry it out with
regard to their own offiicials, they could very soon put down the
native opium. A few heads of high officials or the exclusion of the
entire opium smoking fraternity from office and examination, would
soon make a clean sweep of the whole thing.

Again we are told <f no Indian opium is consumed in all this
region although opium smoking, it may be without exaggeration
said, is a universal practice.” This is the most remarkable sentence
in the whole report and one not borne out by the facts. No
Indian opium smoked, without exaggeration the practice universal !
2,200,000 smokers out of 26 millions or as he believes 35 millions !
30 per cent=equal to totality and universality i.e. 100 per cent!
If this is the language to which we are to be treated, we must accept
Mr. Spence’s estimates with extreme reserve.

“ The payment of this export of opium from Szechuen at present
deranges the currency and impedes the trade of the province, a state
of things which can only be transitional and which improved com¬
munications and transport would soon do away with.” -We shall see.

“ Opium in transit affords a valuable revenue to the Government,
to the provincial exchequer of Szechuen and of those through
which it- passes or is smoked in, dues varying from Tls. 10 to Tls. 25,
and also a yearly increasing export duty to the Hankow maritime
customs’ revenue.” Let us look at the state of the native opium
question at Hankow, a port 400 miles up the great river, situated
in the very heart of China and where trade is in a position to draw
and exert an influence upon a number of surrounding provinces,
Szechuen among the rest. Well, before the year 1860 it drew its
opium supplies from Shansi with Honan intervening between place
of consumption and place of production, while Szechuen was the
adjoining province on the West with easy water communication.
After the disturbances in the above province in that year, it hence¬
forth drew its supplies from Szechuen and Hunan adjoining on

June.] SZECHUEN NATIVE OPIUM. — A BE VIEW. 233

the South. At that time the growth in Shansi was very small; it.
only had begun to be cultivated a few years earlier. It supplied
the Chihli market also. On Hankow being opened to trade, the
consumption of native opium at once decreased on account of the
reduction in price of the foreig-n drug, the result of the greater
facilities for its transportation and of the increase in the price of
the native owing to the ravages of rebel bands in Szechuen. Native
dealers state that 2000 piculs of Szechuen and Hunan opium were
brought to Hankow in 1860 for local use and reshipment down the
river. In 1861 the supply was reduced to 1500 piculs; in 1862,
only 800 piculs and in 1863 only 500 piculs reached Hankow. On
the other hand opium dealers are almost unanimous in stating that
in 1860 the foreign drug was almost unknown in Hankow and that
during this and preceding years but a few ten’s of piculs annually
made their appearance in the Hankow market. In 1861, 250 piculs ;
in 1862, 2,000 piculs; in 1863, 1466 piculs of foreign opium were
imported. In 1881 it was over 4000 piculs. The foreign import
had very largely increased the consumption and has doubless both
created and then supplied the demand.

The general experience of the effects of opium up to this time
has been that it is harmless. It cannot be very injurious to those
who indulge in it. Mr. Spence’s language is as follows, “Were
Indian opium the fatal poison and scourge in the Bast of China, it
is sometimes asserted to be, one ought to find in the West, where
ten-fold move opium is smoked, a debased, debilitated and impove¬
rished people. On the contrary it is notorious that the reverse is the
case and that the people, both in body and estate are among the
most prosperous in China.” According to his own shewing the
growth of the West and South-west only a little more than doubles
the imported article which is almost exclusively smoked in the
Eastern provinces. How then does he speak of ten-fold more opium !
He bases his calculation on 30 per cent of the male adults, that is
surely not ten-fold more than in the Eastern ports ! This is the loose
language to which we object. Who has ever said that Indian opium
is the fatal poison and scourge in the East of China ? I am not
aware that this has ever been asserted. The immunity of the Sze¬
chuen- opium smokers from the debasing, debilitating and impove¬
rishing results of the habit is not notorious, as witness Richthofen,
Colquhoun, Wylie and a host of China Inland missionaries who
have lately travelled through the province. We may well take for
granted that opium, possessing such constant properties will pro¬
duce constant results. These results inevitably come sooner or later.

234

SZECHUEN NATIVE OPIUM.—A REVIEW.

[May-

Mr. Spence tells us “it must be borne in mind that while there
are hundreds of heavy smokers, there are hundreds of thousands of
light smokers.” This too is something worth taking into account in
our estimate of its deleterious character. Time, moreover, must be
allowed for the ill effects to develop themselves. The prevalence of
the habit is only very recent, for the great increase of production has
been within the last few years. The usual results may, by and by,
be expected. At present the people consume the native, the habit
originated however at first through the foreign, which is of inferior
strength and takes a longer time to form the habit, and tbe habit is
not so fascinating and is more easily abandoned. But the native
growth is yearly improving in quality. The people, moreover, of
Szechuen, it ought to be remembered have had a long period of
peace and with careful industry, in a fruitful soil and in a healthful
climate, it is but natural to expect the inhabitants should look more
robust than those of other and less favourably situated provinces.

In conclusion Mr. Spence “ thinks it is easy to see what, under
the circumstances,- would be the practical effect of the rigorous
prohibition of opium cultivation in India and the attempted exclusion
by China of foreign opium. In the South-west where Indian opium
is all but unknown,' tbe effect would be nil. Among the poor
smokers in the East who now use the native drug, its effect would be
equally nil. Many who now use Indian opium would take to native,
and one effect would be to give a great stimulus to production in the
West. Well-to-do smokers in the East would everywhere seek for a
high class smuggled opium. Smuggling would therefore be organ¬
ized all along the coast by Chinese desperadoes associated with
European and American adventurers; the customs service would
have to become an armed force; quiet sea-ports would be turned into
hells of disorder and international relations embittered to an intol¬
erable degree; opium would come from Turkey, Persia and Africa
and the profits of the trade, instead of passing as they do now to the
support of our beneficent rule and civilization in India, would become
the incentive to and the reward of lawlessness, disorder and crime.”

The above is a terrible picture of the evils of abolishing the
Indian opium trade. I presume precisely the same arguments were
used when it was proposed to abolish slavery. If all this action on
the part of China is from a question of money not of morals, (and
that is not taxing the native growth to its legitimate extent but con¬
tinually hurling edicts against it, as if playing into the foreign hands,
which in other respects no one will accuse her of, and other considera¬
tions already adduced) then such a catastrophe might ensue as is

June.] Notes on the history of suchow. 235

here depicted. But even apart from any action which China may
take, (and I think in the event of a proposition for the abolition of
the Indian growth, it would be right on the part of Great Britain
to demand some guarantees of good faith from China with penalties'
annexed to the nonfulfillment of them,) Great Britain in the
interests of her own trade will see that her dnty dictates that she
should aid China to prevent the importation from non-treaty powers
and in every way help her to eradicate a vice which she (England)
has been so instrumental, if not in creating at least in stimulating.

NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF 8UOHOW.

By Rev. A- P. Parker.

Vt.

THE KINGDOM OF WU.

JJOH LU on. getting possession of the kingdom immediately set
about strengthening the defences of the country and preparing
for a vigorous prosecution of the war with Yuen on the South and
Tsi on the North. These petty principalities into which China was
divided at that time were constantly quarelling with each other and
war seems to have been almost their normal condition. At the time
that Hoh Lii overthrew Wang Liao his capital appears to have been
at Wu Sieh, though this is not clearly stated. But wherever it was,
Hoh Lii was not satisfied with it, either as regards location, size or
strength. He felt the need of a large walled city where his people
could dwell safely in time of danger, and where his government
stores could be protected from the enemies that constantly menaced
his kingdom. The city of Suchow was founded, as stated in a
former article, to supply this want.

Owing principally to the good judgement of Wu Sz-sii, to
whom Hoh Lii largely committed the affairs of his kingdom, the
country was soon brought to a great state of strength and pros¬
perity, so that Hoh Lii asserted his independence and threw off
even the semblance of allegiance to the House of Cheu which his
predecessors had acknowledged as due to the central or Proper
Government, He succeeded in subjugating Ts l i and Yueh,

capturing the king of the latter, who together with his principal
minister were held in close captivity for many years, and made to
preform services to the king of Wu of the most degrading character.
The cause of the quarrel between Wu and Yueh is not stated, but it
was probably rival ambition to be possessed of larger territory and
mutual jealousy of encroachments on each other’s dominions.

After having built and fortified his new capital, Hoh Lii
selected Ling Yen Hill as a place for a summer palace. Here he

236

NOTES ON TEE HISTORY OP 8UCB0W.

[May-

spent much of his time in the summer, and evidently made of it a
roost beautiful and pleasant summer resort. He spent a good deal
of the means and labor of the people in providing various pleasure
resorts for himself, and his court, and several of the mountains in
and around the shores of the Great Lake afforded him places for
game parks, hunting grounds, pleasure gardens, &c. But while
spending large amounts for his own gratification, he also did much
to improve the general condition of the country, especially in open¬
ing up the water communications, and draining the swampy lands
that abounded. By his wise and just government he gained the
confidence of the people and succeeded ere long in firmly-establish¬
ing himself on the throne. He brought his army into a great state
of efficiency, and none of the neighboring principalities could cope
with him, so that he was able to dictate his own terms on the con¬
clusion of every one of the four or five wars in which he engaged.

But notwithstanding his power and prosperity, there was one
man still alive that Hoh Lii feared. This was Wang Liao’s son,
and the rightful successor to the throne of Wu which Hoh Lii had
usurped. This son, whose name was K'ing K'i, had gone with the
army of Wu to invade Yueh, and it was during his absence, and
while nearly all the available forces of the country were called off
on this expedition, that Hoh Lii had, by Wu Tz-su’s advice, taken
advantage of the occasion to execute his purpose to destroy Liao
and seize the throne. K'ing K'i on hearing of his father’s death fled
to a neighboring court for safety, aud Hoh Lii feared that he might
finally succeed in inducing that country to assist him to avenge his
father’s death, and obtain his rightful possession of the kingdom.
So great was Hoh Lii’s dread that he told Tz-sii that he could
neither eat with relish nor sleep in peace. Tz-sii came to his rescue
as usual, and provided him with a plan to rid him of K'ing K'i, and
a man to execute that plan. This tool of Tz-sii, named Yao Li was
a former acquaintance, a desperate man and ready for any work of
blood. He agreed to put K'ing K'i out of the way, but in order to
gain his confidence, preparatory to his destruction, Yao Li pretended
to flee for his life and came to the court where K'ing k'i had taken
refuge, while Hoh Lii, according to previous agreement, put Yao Li’s
wife aud children to death,—Yao Li thus sacrificing his family from
devotion to his king. Yao Li pretended to complain bitterly to K'ing
K'i of the injustice and oppression he had suffered from Eoh Lii and
urged him to join him in a plot to avenge themselves on the tyrant
for the wrongs that they both had suffered. K'ing K’i believed
his story, and three months later they started for the court of Wu

NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF SUCHOW.

237

Juno.]

with the purpose of assassinating Hoh Lii. On crossing a certain
stream in a boat and while K'ing K r i was entirely off his guard, Yao
Li ran his sword through him and threw his body into the water.-

But although he had succeeded so well in his plot, Yao Li was
filled with remorse for the murder he had committed, and would not
return to Hoh Lii to report his success and receive his reward, hut
died by his own hand lamenting with his dying breath the perfidy
and ambition that had caused the sacifice of so many innocent lives-
Hoh Lii reigned twenty years, during which time he succeeded in
extending the borders of his kingdom and improving the condition
of the people to such a degree that the country of Wu came to he one
of the strongest and most famous of the principalities into which
the country of China was practically divided at that time, b.c. 500.
On his death he was succeeded by his son Fu Ch'ai.

This son had none of the energy or ambition of his illustrious
father. He soon gave evidence of an entire want- of qualification
for his high position—preferring his own ease and comfort to the
strength and prosperity of his kingdom. He wasted the revenues
of the country in building and adorning palaces and towers, in lay¬
ing out and maintaining game parks and pleasure gardens, and in
supporting a gorgeous and dissolute court.

Entirely engrossed in present pleasure, he had no policy to
pursue in government affairs. He therefore most foolishly released
Keu Tsien, King of Yueh, and his minister, Fan Li, whom Hoh Lu
had left in captivity. Not only so but he appointed the ex-king of
Yueh as feudal lord of a large portion of his former dominions
embracing the principal part of the modern Chehkiang province,
with Hangchow as his capital. The far seeing Wu Tz-sii, knowing
the folly of such a procedure, earnestly remonstrated with Fu Ch'ai
against such a suicidal movement, taking occasion at the same
time to warn him as to the results that were to be apprehended
from his dissolute life and useless extravagance. Fu Ch'ai became
exasperated at such presumptuous reproof, and instead of regarding
the counsel of his faithful servant, he sent him a sword and ordered
him to commit suicide. Tz-sti died accordingly by his own hand
mourning the ingratitude of the dissolute king, who owed his throne
and the strength of his kingdom principally to the wise counsel
and faithful administration of Tz-sii. But Fu Ch'ai was glad to be
rid of such a troublesome counselor whose frequent remonstrances
were as thorns in his side, and who had nothing but words of
reproach and warning for him amid all the pleasures and revelries
in which he desired t6 be left unmolested;

238

NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF SUCHOW.

[May-

He had the body of Tz-sii thrown into the canal near Sii K'en
on the shore of the Great Lake, where in subsequent years a temple
was erected to his memory.

Keu Tsien on being restored to his dominions, immediately
began preparations for fulfilling the vow that he had. made while a
captive and a menial of the king of Wu to be avenged on Wu for
his long and bitter captivity. But the execution of this purpose
was an arduous and apparently hopeless undertaking. He found
his country prostrate at the feet of Wu without an army and
withont resources, while Wu was in the full career of victory and
prosperity. But notwithstanding the difficulties in the way, his
purpose was fixed and he pursued it unflinchingly for more than
ten long years, and whenever he found himself disposed to become
contented with his suroundings while his wrongs remained unavenged,
he would eat bitter herbs with his food, and make his bed on leaves
and limbs of trees, that he might not forget the bitterness of his
sufferings in Wu, or his purpose to be avenged.

His first aim was to secure the confidence and esteem of the
people. This he did by lightening their burdens of taxation; by
constant regard for their lives and property; by his just government
and by the simplicity of his own life. It was not long ere the people
were united as one man in his support, and ready to follow wherever
he should lead. But Wu was too strong to be successfully invaded.
Strategy must first be employed to weaken the country and throw
its king off his guard. Keu Tsien’s minister Fan Li, knowing
the dissolute character of Fu Ch'ai and his love of pleasure and
display, devised ten different plans that were to be pursued by his
master in order to accomplish the overthrow of Wu, each of the
plans depending for its success upon the dissipated habits of Fu
Ch'ai. Among these plans the first was to send heavy tribute and
costly presents to the king of Wu. These presents were always
willingly received by Fu Ch'ai, who believed them to be evidences
of the good will of Keu Tsien. Another plan was to send the
most skilled workmen that Yueh could produce to Fu Ch'ai to assist
in building his palaces, pleasure houses &c. This plan succeeded
admirably. For Fu Ch'ai, on obtaining skilled mechanics of a
superior kind, was incited to greater extravagance in building, and
his waste of money, and the enforced labor of many thousands
of his subjects on his extravagant building operations, caused wide¬
spread murmuring and dissatisfaction among the people. The
‘'Beautiful Su Tower’ 5 was built at this time, and the waste of
money and the oppression .of the people that occurred in connection

NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF SUCHOW.

239

June.]

with its erection were almost enough of themselves to cause Fu
Qh'ai the loss of his kingdom. Another of Fan Li’s plans was to
send to Fu Ck'ai presents of the most beauful women that could be
found in Yueh. Several such were sent, and Fu Ch'ai gladly
accepted them as he did former presents from the same source,
blind to the object of the donor, and oblivious of the fact that for
several years his kingdom had been growing weaker, liis army
scattered and his defences falling into ruin. Among the last of the
women sent by Keu Tsien was Si She, whom he had found and
trained in all the female accomplishments of the time. She has
been regarded in all subsequent time as the nc plus ultra of feminine
beauty. Fu Ch'ai was delighted with her, and went to still greater
lengths of extravagance in fitting up his palace and pleasure resorts
for her, and wholly abandoned himself to dissipation and revelry.

The time was now ripe for executing the tenth and last plan of
Fan Li, which was to invade Wu. Keu Tsien accordingly led his
army, which he had brought to a state of great strength, to the
attack of Wu. Fu Ch'ai was wholly unprepared for this invasion.
He had all along flattered himself that Keu Tsien was his faithful
vassal and firm friend. But he was undeceived when it was too
late. His soldiers fled before the disciplined forces of Keu Tsien,
and his dilapidated fortifications fell an easy prey to his now
powerful enemy. In a very short time Keu Tsien made a complete
conquest of the country. Fu Ch'ai fled and vainly sought a place
of safety, but finding that he could not escape, he committed
suicide, lamenting his foolishness and rashness in refusing to listen
to the advice of the faithful Tz-sii. But his lamentations were
useless. He paid the penalty of his folly by the loss of his throne
and his life, and the principality of Wn that had continued intact
for nearly 800 years became extinct.

The Kingdom of Wu never regained its independence. Yueh
held it as a tributary for a number of years, when both were subju¬
gated by Ts'u. About b.c. 300, 'lVu was in turn conquered and
annexed to the dominions of She Hwang Ti, the first emperor of the
T'sin. He divided the whole empire into districts or provinces,
and the former kingdom of Wu was a part of the province of Kwe
Ki of which Hangchow was the capital.

During the time of the Three Kingdoms, about a.d. 250, the
old kingdom of Wu formed a part of the new kingdom of Wu
founded by Sun Kuen ^ whose capital was at Nanking.

(To be continued ).

240

CORKKSPONDraCE.

[May

An open Letter to the Foreign Merchants in China.

I have read with very great interest the letter of one of your
number, the Hon. F. Bulkeley Johnson, which was published in the
last number of the Chinese Recorder. Without adverting to other
points, there are two statements in his letter which are of the
greatest importance, and to which I request your special attention.
He says thus; “ you can hardly fail to be aware, that the interests
of a large majority, probably more than 9/lOths, of the foreign
merchants in China ai*e not concerned directly or indirectly in the
perpetuation of the opium trade. On the contrary it may bo stated
positively that were the opium trade to cease, the pecuniary in¬
terests of the mercantile body generally not only would not suffer,
but they would be directly benefited. In that case (the cessation of
the trade) produce exported from China, which is now paid for to the
extent of £10,000,000, Sterling by opium, the traffic in which is
controlled and monopolized by a few British-Indian firms, would have
to he paid by increased quantities of other descriptions of imports
which form the business of the foreign community”. Page 145.

The first of these statements I understand to mean that more
than nine tenths of the foreign merchants in China, including British,
German, French and American, have nothing to do directly with the
purchase or sale of opium; and therefore have no pecuniary interest
in the continuance of the opium trade. This is a statement which I
am very glad to accept as correct, and I am sure that all those who
are connected with the ant i-opium movement will be glad to know.

The second statement is explicit and can be understood only
in one way. It declares that if tbe opium trade were to cease, the
pecuniary interests of more than 9/10ths of the foreign merchants
would thereby be directly benefited. The reason for this is very
obvious. For it i3 stated that £10,000,000 sterling, or $50,000,000,
of the sum received for the exports from China goes to pay for the
opium imported from India. If this importation of opium should
cease, that the Chinese would have these fifty millions of dollars
with which to purchase increased quantities of other imports. The
importing and sale of these other imports is the business of these
more than nine-tenths of the foreign merchants who have nothing
to do with opium. This great increase in the sale of other imports
would greatly increase their profits and hence the cessation of the
opium trade would directly benefit their pecuniary interests.

CORRESPONDENCE.

241

Juno.]

These are facts of the utmost importance to tho mercantile
community in China; ami not only to them but also to the whole
commercial world. Gentlemen, I request your candid and careful
consideration of these statements which I receive as absolutely
and undeniably correct. If any government would open a new
country which would afford a market for the disposal of 50 milllion
dollars’ worth of manufactures what au interest it would excite and
what activity it would awaken in the commercial world. Its influence
would be felt in every manufacturing town of the United Kingdom,
in every part of Germany, France and the United States of America.
For instance recall the interest which the discoveries of Stanley and
Cameron in Africa have aroused by bringing* to the knowledge of
Europe the immense population of the interior of Africa and the
many and various enterprises that have been set on foot to open up
commerce with the dark continent. The formation of treaties with
Corea by the different western nations, a year ago, was hailed with
universal gvatulations because it was hoped that these treaties would
open that little Kingdom to western commerce.

Whenever the Chinese Government or people, for the purpose
of increasing their revenues a little, establish some new likin tax
on some article of foreign commerce, as kerosine oil, or when
they interfere with the commencement of some manufactures by
foreigners, what an outcry is made, because these things hiuder the
increase and extension of your business and therefore prevent the
increase of your profits ! The Chamber of Commerce at Shanghai
and Hongkong have sjjent any amouut of time and effort in endea¬
vouring to have the various likin taxes ou foreign imports removed,
in the hopes that thereby the amount of such imports might be
increased. These same Chambers of Commerce bave spent money and
time in seeking to arrange for transit-permits for Chinese productions
coming from the interior, in the hopes that thus being able to sell
these exports at a lower price in Western lauds would secure a market
for an increased quantity and thus increase your business. The
ministers of the different western natious at the court of China have
been urged to use all their diplomatic influence at Peking to effect
the discontinuance of the likin taxes on imports from western lands.

But, Gentlemen, as you are accustomed to consider questions
of commercial value let me ask you what is the value of the
increased quantity of imports which would result from the reduction
of the likin taxes on western imports as compared with the value of
the increased quantity of imports which would follow the cessation
of the opium trade ? In that case the Chinese would have 50 mil¬
lions of dollars, which now go to pay for opium, with which to pay

242

COBRESPONDENCE.

[May-

for other imports. Would the removal of the likin. taxes increase
the imports to the value of 1/10 or even the 1/20 of that sum?
I think not. But I submit it to you.

In thus directing your attention and efforts to the removal of the
likin taxes and other small hindrances to the extension of your com¬
merce with this numerous people during these thirty years, instead
of seeking to do away with that giant monopoly, which has, during
all these years, taken the great portion of all the profits of the trade
with China to itself to the great injury of your pecuniary interests
have you not, Gentlemen, been endeavoring to remove the mole hill
while suffering the great mountain of difficulty to remain undisturbed?
Will you now that your attention is directed to this matter, remain
indifferent while your profits are taken by others and the expansion
of the trade is hindered by that great monopoly ? or will you, whose
pecuniary interests would be directly promoted by the cessation of
the opium trade direct your combined efforts to effect that object ?

That which effects your commercial interests also effects the
interests of your constituents at home. These 50 millions of dollars
which go to pay for Indian opium, if reserved to pay for increased
quantities of other imports would impart new life to business in
China. They would give increased activity to manufactures of all
kinds which are used by the China people.

From these statements and considerations it appears that the
pecuniary interests of more than nine-tenths of the Foreign merchants
in China, that the manufacturing and shipping interests of all
western lands, would be directly benefited by the cessation of the
opium trade from India; while a few British-Indian firms control and
monopolize this trade. Will you, Gentlemen, when you see new
markets for the extension of commerce and new ways of increasing
the amount of imports into China rest satisfied, remain inactive
while these few British-Indian firms secure these fifty millions of
dollars to pay for this Indian opium, thus realizing great profits to
the continued injury of your pecuniary interests ? Or as enterpris¬
ing and influential merchants, and as representing a wealthy and
influential body of manufacturers and ship owners, will you seek by
your combined and energetic efforts to effect the cessation of the
opium trade from India, and thus secure a very great expansion
of the trade with China in other descriptions of imports ? These are
questions, Gentlemen, which I present to you for your consideration,

I am yours.

Very respectfully,

A Friend or Commerce.

June.]

MISSIONARY NEWS.

243

immtimj

girUu, Carriages & §enlhs.

BIRTHS.

At St. Johns College on May 22ud,
the wife of Rev. W. S. Sayres,
American Episcopal Mission, of a
son.

At Shanghai, ou May 24th, the -wife
of Rev. 0. H. Chapin, Ainericau
Presbyterian Mission, of a sou.

At Cbingkiartg, on May—the wife of
Mr. J. W. Hunnex, of the American
Bap tist Mission, South, of a daughter.

At Tsinanfoo, on May 26th, the wife of
Rev. J. Murray, American Pres¬
byterian Mission, of a daughter.

At Shanghai, on June 6th, the wife of
Rev. 0. G. Mingledorff, American
Methodist Episcopal Mission South,
of a son.

At Cliingkiang, on June Oth, the wife
of Rev. G. W. Woodall, American
Methodist Epicop&l Mission, of a
.sou.

marriage.

At E. P. Mission Swatow, May IGth,
by Rev. H. K. Mackenize M. A. the
Rev. George Smith, M.D., to Mary
Campbell youngest daughter of the
late Rev. David B. Mellis, F. C.
Minister, Tealing, Scotland.

DEATHS.

At Ta-ku-tau, on May 16th, Annie,
eldest daughter of Rev. and Mrs.
J. E. Cardwell, China Inland
Mission.

At the Wesleyan Mission Hankow,
on June 13th, the wife of Rev. Wm.
Scarborough. Friends will kindly
accept this intimation.

Arrivals. —On the 4th December,
1882 in the M. M. s.s. A.vcl, Rev.
F. Tentscli, Rev. T. Lehmann Mr.
C. Rienhardt in connection with the
Berlin Missiou at Canton.

At Shanghai April 28th, per s.s.
Nagoya Maru Mi's. Spragno and
Miss N. Diament. A. B. C. F. Mis¬

sion on their return, Miss F. Hale
to join the same Mission at Pao-
ting-fu.

.At Shanghai on May 3rd, per s.s.
Hiroshima Maru, Miss M. L. Berry
to join the American Presbyterian
Mission at Chefoo.

Per. s.s. Verona on Jane 11th,
Mr. G. Nicoll of C. I. M. Chung¬
king on his return and Mr. F. M.
Wood, to join tbeCI.M. in Ganking.
%*

Departures.— From Shanghai on
May 4th, per s.s. Nagoya Maru,
Miss M. E. Barr of the American
Prebyterinn Mission, North, Peking;
Rev. G. W. Painter and R. B.

, Fishbnrne M.D. of the American
Presbyterian Mission, South, Hang¬
chow, for U.S.A.

From Shanghai on May 18th, per
s.s. Sutlej, Mr. R. J. Landnle M. A.
and infant, of the C. I. M. for
Edinburgh.

From Shanghai, June 7th per s.s.
Takasaga Maru, Rev. and Mrs. L.
D. Chapin and four children, tho
Misses Chapin, Master Chapin and
Miss J. Evans of the A. B. C. F.
Mission, Tungchow, for U. S. A.
***

Yunnan foo. —There has been ser¬
ious disturbance in thi-s region,
this spring, resulting in the mur¬
der of a French priest, M. Terrasse
and an unknown number of native
Christians. Considerable ill feeling
has been shown, for a long time,
toward the Christians, but hereto¬
fore it has found its expression in
threats. But early in April a mob
of about 200 people set upon M.
Terrasse and killed him and seven
native Christians who were with
him. This successful murderous
exploit-, instead of satisfying the
mob seems rather to have increased
its fury. For in augmented num¬
bers, it proceeded to kill every native

244

MISSIONARY NEWS.

[May-

Christian met, nml to destroy their
dwellings. The officials Lave s«o-
cecded in quieting the people and
sit last accounts were trying to
find Llie lenders. It is believed
that the lilemtiy that honorable
appellation of the haek-bone of
opposition to every tiling progressive
Or vui-Chinese, are to blame for the
disturbance. Peaceful relations with
France will not be assisted by this

brutal attack upon a Frenchman.

* <*

*

Crncpoo.—In reference to the evan¬
gelistic tours of members of the
American Presbyterian Mission
mentioned in the last Recorder the
following has been learned. Rev.
J. L. Kevins I).D. started on his
tour over his regular route last
December and returned the latter
part of April. He traveled about
1000 miles on a wheel-harrow of
his own invention, drawn by n
powerful mule. On five successive
days at the close of the trip he travel¬
ed 200 miles, an average of 40 miles
2 >t}r diem, which may be called
very good wheel-burrow time, and
shows that traveling in Shantung
may be expedited if one wishes.
But the missionary results of the
trip are the important ones. On
this extended tour Dr. Kevins,
aside from confirming the faith of
those who have heretofore accepted
of Christianity, had the satisfaction
of baptizing two Inuuh'&l eight (208}
adults. When it is remembered
that in the whole, area traversed
there are not more than ten Chinese
who receive any pay for their labors,
aud that the whole policy is not to
employ but to leave the native
Christians in the lot in which they
were found by the Goscpl, it seems
as though there must be much work
done voluntarily by the converts.
This is the fact and Dr. Kevius
attributes much of the rapid spread
of the Gospel in this region, to the
exertions of the natives.

Rev. Hunter Corbett’s tour also
extended to about 1000 miles. He
traveled in Lho “Shantung schooner”

commonly called a shau-tz, and by
pony. During bis absence he re¬
ceived 112 to church membership.
Both of these brethren report that
they hope to receive nearly equally
large numbers in the autumn when
they visit their stations again.

Rev. J. A. Leyenberger took a
“schooner” aud traversed another
route, laying out a new district for
his own labors. He was absent
ob days, and in that time traveled
about GOO miles. He reports no
converts. He is beginning a series
of itinerations among the villages,
such as have proved so sueessful
with his colleagues. But first the

sowing then the reaping.

* *

*

Japan. —Rev. A. C. Shaw, wife and
two children and Miss Hoar have left
Tokio on furlough. They belong
to the S. P. G. Mission. Rev. W. F.
H. Gowetfc, who, while not a mem¬
ber of the above Society, yet has
been in charge of Mi*. Wright’s
work, has resigned. In April Miss
Gouldy (on her return) and
Misses Hooper and Dnughnclay
joined the A. 13. C. F. M. Society
at Yokohama. Miss A. M. Drum-
mon came out to the Cumberland
Presbyterian Mission in May.

Mr. J. Batchelder has joind the
English Church Mission at Hako¬
date We are indebted to Mr. Geo.
Elmer of the American Bible Society
for the above items from Japan.

***

Bangkok.— -The Rev. C. D. McLaren
of the American Prcsbyteriau Mis¬
sion, arrived at Bangkok November
2lst 1882, and died March 14th
1883. He was a man of lure pro¬
mise who began his work for the
Siamese and the European commu¬
nity, with great zeal and prospects
of success. He leaves here a young
widow and the entire commnuity
to mourn bis untimely end.

*#*

Since our last number we have
received a copy of the card of the
Anti-opium Prayer Union which
we reproduce.

NOTICES 0? RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

245

June.]

ANTI-OPIUM PRATER UNION.

Object,—Uuited Prayer for the
Abolition of our Opium Trade
with China, and for God’s blessing
on the great work of arousiug the
public conscience on this question.
Rules. 1—To remember the above
subjects in prayer at least once a
week—on Thursdays. 2—To seek

to interest others in the cause.
“ With God all things are possi¬
ble.”—Matt. six. 26. “ All things
are possible to him that believeth.—
Mark ix. *23. “ If ye have faith as

a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall
say to this mountain, remove hence
to yonder place; and it shall
remove.”—Matt. xvii. 20.

ftoticea af ptetrt

The Harmony of the Bible with Sciewe. By Samuel Kinns Ph.D., Fellow of
the Royal Astronomical Society; member of the Biblical Archaeological
Society; Principal of the College, Higkburg New Park, London. Cassell,
Petter, Galpin and Co., 1862.

The object of this Book is to show
that the statements of the Bible in
regard to the creation of all things,
when the language of the original is
rightly understood, accord with the
latest and most correct teachings of
science on these several points.
This subject is considered in fifteen
particulars connected with the sev¬
eral creative events; and the author
shows that “the order of these
events as taught by science, corres¬
ponds with that given by Moses.”
The author claims that such an
agreement in so many particulars
could not happeu by chance; and
that this accurate statement of such
events by Moses proves that he wrote
the statements from a revelation

made to him by God. The author
is accredited with the names of
subscribers of the highest distinc¬
tion, some members of the Nobility,
Dignitaries of the church, Statesmen
and men in every department of
science. It is impossible to give
any clear idea of the work by any
analysis of its contents. It needs to
be closely read, and studied. Our
object now is to bring the work to
the notice of our readers and to
suggest to every one to obtain a
reading of it. It. is eminently
suited to remove the doubts of any
honest doubter; and to greatly
strengthen and confirm the faith of
these who believe that our Bible i9
a revelation from the all-wise God.

The Proofs of Christ's Resurrection from a Lawyer’s Standpoint. C. E.
Morrison. Andover, U. S. A. Warren F, Draper 1882.

The Resurrection of onr Lord Jesus 1
Christ from the dead after his
crucifixion, is tho great founda¬
tion fact of tho New Testament,
as the work of creation is the funda¬
mental fact of the Old Testament.
The Great Apostle of the Gen¬
tiles when discussing this fact
says to the Gentile converts, “If
Christ be not raised then is your
faith vain.” The truth of the
gospel plan of salvation is indis¬
solubly connected with the fact that

| Christ rose from the dead. Hence
the fierce conflict of opinion has
raged around this great article of
Christian faith. The fact is attested
by the most reliable testimony.
The testimonies are of every differ¬
ent kind. Some are designed to
influence cue class of minds, and
the others different orders of minds.
The author, in this book, has pur¬
sued that line of evidence which
is accepted in courts of Justice
as establishing facts. He says

ue

“The best evidence of which the
subject admits is all that is requir¬
ed in courts ; and it is sufficient in
matters of the highest concern,
even in cases of life and death, that
a fact is proved beyond a reason¬
able doubt. The best evidence of
Christs’ resurrection to his disciples
was their own senses. We cannot
have the evidence of our own
senses. We are in the position, in
some respects, of jurors, who must
decide not from their own kuow-
edge, but upon the testimony of
thers. We have not the witnesses
on the stand, but only their deposi-
ions; and it is made a question

[May-

whether the writings produced are
their depositions.” And following
out this line of examination he pro¬
ceeds to establish the point that in
the four gospels we have the reli¬
able depositions of those who were
eye witness to the fact of Christ’s
resurrection. We therefore in
this matter have the host evidence
which the subject admits of, which is
all that is required in courts accord¬
ing to their usages on matters of
the highest importance.

We commend the book to the
attention of all our readers for refer¬
ence when this vital fact of our
holy religion is under consideration.

NOTICES OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

The China Review. March and April

This number of the Review is of
more than usual interest. The two
firstarticles are on subjects that com¬
mand the attention of all residents
in China. The first paper is on “The
So-Called Blockade of Hongkong.”
The second is on “Opium and opium
smoking.” By Hugh McCallnm.
The author makes the point that
it has never yet been clearly ex¬
plained what part of opium it is
which is most desired by the
smoker in the smokable extract.
And farther to what extent mor¬
phine is inhaled (even when it is

1883.

present) by the smoker. It is to
be hoped that when so much atten¬
tion is directed to this subject that
some further light will be thrown
upon the matter. Mr. Ball continues
to furnish “Scraps from Chinese
Mythology.” Mr. Piton gives a
further instalment of “ Chinese
History.” Dr. Edkins gives “Some
notes . on some Chinese words.”
The rest of an interesting number
is made up of the usual notices of
New Books, Literary Intelligence
and Notes and Queries.

The Story of ike Cheh-Kiang Mission of the C. M. S. By the Rev. Arthur
Moule. B. D. London, 1879.

The title fully makes known to us
the object of this small volume.
It is a simple and very interesting
history of the labors, trials and
difficulties of the missionaries of
the C. M. S. in seeking to make
known the gospel in the Province
of Cheh-kiang, for the use of the
friends of missions iu England.
There are many incidents of great
interest. Some of the native con¬
verts give most decided and clear
evidence of conversion and growth;

some of them endure the fiery
ordeal of persecution ; some mani¬
fest great consecration aud zeal
in making known ' the gospel
to their fellow men. It will be a
great gratification to many to see
the likeness of the late Bishop
Rnssell as the frontispiece in this
vol. We coraruend this narrative
as one of great interest to all who
would read of the triumphs of God’s
grace among this people.

NOTICES OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS-

247

June.]

China as a Missioni Field . By the Rev. Artber E. Moule, B- D. London, 1882

This small volume in paper cover
Was written to make China better
known to those who support the
missions for its evangelization. It
is very well arranged and prepared
for this purpose. It contains in a
small compass a great deal of val-
uablo information which cannot be

easily met with in such a compact
form. It gives at the close a sum¬
mary of the statistics of C. M. S.
Missions in China to 1880. Native
Christian Teachers 174. Native
Christian adherents 4G07. Com¬
municants 1702. Adults baptised
in 1880,348. Scholars 874.

Report of the Medical Missionary Society in China, For the year, 1882.

From this Report of the work in
the Hospital of this Society, at
Canton, under the care of Dr. Kerr,
it a pears that its beneficent labors
for the relief of suffering are con¬
tinued with increased’ efficiency.
The annual Reports are necessarily
very much the same from year to
year. Their object is accomplished
when they present to the Patrons
of these institutions the evidence of
the amount of suffering which is
relieved day by day. These cases
during thu year amount to hundreds
of tho more serious diseases and to
thousands of the less serious ones.
The attendances for (heyear, of out¬
patients were 19,199 of which num¬

ber 3,765 were females; the num¬
ber of in-patients was 1,182 of
whom 396 were females. The
number of Surgical operations was
963. The Report states that great
enlargement of the facilities for its
various kinds oE work is in pro¬
gress during this year. We will be
glad to notice the completion of
these buildings in the next Report.
These additional buildings are esti¬
mated to cost §5.000. It is grati-
fyiug to notice that the liberality
of the friends of the Society has
furnished the means for their erec¬
tion without calling upon the com¬
munity for additional subscrip¬
tions.

Report of the Medical Missionary Hospital at Fatshan in connection with
the Wesleyan Missionary Society, in charge of Charles Weuyon, M.D,,
M-C-It-, for the year 1882.

Dr. Wcnyon estimates the popula¬
tion of Fat-shan at not “ much less
than half a million.” He further
states that " this hospital, which
is the only institution of the kind in
Fatshan, lias accommodation for
100 in r palients. There are two
wards for women, and three for
men, including the ward set apart
for the treatment of opium smokers.
All in-patients are required to pro¬
vide their own food. This rule
excludes many sufferers who would
be greatly benefited by a stay of
some few weeks in tho hospital;
but literally living from hand to
month their daily bread depends
upon their daily work. Unfit as
they are for labor, these miserable
sufferers must bear their burden
and till their fields, earning less and

less as their strength fails, until ere
long they perish from sheer exhaus¬
tion. One dollar and a quarter, is
sufficient to provide a patient in
the hospital with food for a month ;
but limited resources make a rigid
economy so imperative, that we are
forced to adhere as strictly as may
be to our rule.”

This suggests an object for the
contributions of the benevolent, to
give the means of supplying food to
such patients as cannot supply it for
themselves, and thus enable them to
receive treatment at. the hospital.

The number of attendances lias
been 11,262 by 7,114 different per¬
sons. Of these 86 were lepers
showing that leprosy prevails to
a distressing extent. Of opium
smokers Dr. Wenyou says;—

248

NOTICES OP RECENT PUBLICATIONS. May-Jun[e.]

“Opium makers are continually
applying to us for the relief of
various dyspeptic troubles, -without
any intention of giving up the use
of the drug, but during the year 30
opium smokers have entered the
hospital, with the desire to free
themselves from a habit which they
and their friends, at any rate,
believed to be as destructive of
their health as of their fortunes.
Most of these were labouring men,
and their weakness, anaemia, and
emaciation may have been partially
due to the fact, that after purchas¬
ing opium they had not money
enough left to provide themselves
with proper and sufficient food.
ThiB explaution however is far
from satisfactory, for cases are often
brought before us to which it will
not at all apply. One of our opium
patients this year was a young man
24 years of age, in a very good
position, who was brought to the
hospital by his father from the pro¬
vince of Kwong-sai. He was as
pale and emaciated as any of the
rest, though in this case there was
no poverty to account for it. For

the first 3 or 4 days he suffered
severely, and, but for the threats of
hia father, would have left the
hospital. In a few days more the
distressing symptoms were relieved,
the patient's appetite returned, and
after about three weeks he left the
hospital well, having gained during
his stay with us at least 20 lbs. in
weight. Two other opium patients
were well-to-do Fatshan tradesmen.
Though robust and healthy in ap¬
pearance they soon began to mani¬
fest the nervous tremor, restlesmess
and depression which we have ob¬
served in habitual laudanum drink¬
ers at home, and bo strong was
their craving for opium that nothing
would induce them to stay in the
hospital longer than the third day.
There may be a certain amount of
unintentional exaggeration in many
of the cnrrent statements with
regard to the pernicious effects of
opium smoking, but without a wan¬
ton disregard of evidence which
we have daily before our eyes, we
can by no means say that it is a
harmless, much less ft beneficial
habit.”

The Chrysanthemum. April, 1883.

This series of this Periodical im¬
proves with each successive number.
The number for April presents its
readers with a choice and varied
table of contents. The History of
Japanese Ke ramies, and the story of
the House of Kurada are continued
from the previons No. by Captain
Brinkley K.A. There are a number
of papers by new contributors. An
article by C. S. Eby on Christianity
and other religions will attract the
attention of many readers. It is
the fifth lecture of a course of six

Yokohama.

in number by the author in the
Meiji Kwaido, Tokio, during the
first three mouths of 1883. While
all the statements of the author
may not be accepted, he presents
a very clear and strong argument
in support of the theory that
Christianity is a divinely revealed
religion and is suited to the wants
of mankind. - There is a very
appreciative “ In ruemoriara ” of a
Missionary recently deceased, the
Rev. Dr. Kreeker, from U.S.A.

THE

MISSIONARY JOURNAL.

Vol. XIV. JULY-AUGUST, 1883. Xo. 4

HOW FAB 8H0ULD THE CTJRRICULUMS OF WESTERN SCHOOLS
AND THE WESTERN METHODS OF EDUCATION EE
ADOPTED IN CHINA?*

Br Rev. D. C. McCoy.

T DO not know how nearly the methods of education in Europe
A and Great Britain agree with tlioso of the United States of
America. I take it for granted that the dissimilarity is not great,
and that the results do not greatly differ in the different countries.
If, therefore, in discussing the question before us, I make more
especial reference to the schools of the United States and their
methods, it will be because I am better acquainted with these.

What, then, are these schools, these studies, and these
methods ? And how far should they be adopted in China ?

1. There is a grade known in the United States as Common
Schools. These are intended to furnish instruction in all the
elementary branches of learning. In the United States these
schools are supported by taxation and are free to all classes. They
have been an inestimable blessing to the country. Some Common
School system should be adopted in China as soon as practicable, and
as far as possible throughout the Empire. All the children of the
land, without distinction of sex, and irrespective of the varying
conditions of rich and poor, high and low, should have free access
to these schools. In them the pupils should be taught spelling,
reading and writing in their native tongue; arithmetic, with the
Arabic system of notation, as the key to all future development in
science and exchange; and the history of their own and other lands.
I am prepared to say, too, that it would be a blesssing to this
country, if the English language were taught in all these primary

* Rend before the Peking Missionary Association and published in the Recorder at
the request of. the Editor.

250 HOW FIR SHOULD THE CURRICULUHS OF WESTERN [Jufy-

schools. I am well aware of the fact that many who think the
English language should be introduced into some of the higher
schools, have not advocated its being taught also in the schools of
the lower grades; but my plan wonld be to give it a place in the
primary schools-and- continue it through all the higher departments.
The best scholars in any language will generally be those who
began it in their earlier years. It would be impracticable, of
course, immediately on the adoption of this system of education, to
introduce the English, or any other foreign language, into all these
schools. But, were the government and the people so disposed, it
might be introduced into many of them—say into one of the schools
in each of the capitals of all the provinces, and later into the larger
District cities, and still later into all the schools throughout the
empire. How the teachers for these schools may be secured
I will have a suggestion or two to make further on. In this place
I only wish to urge the importance of the English language to a
people like the Chinese. I do not here enter upon the discussion of
the question whether the English, considered in itself alone, is a
language superior to the Chinese. I do not doubt its inherent
superiority. But this is not the main reason why I would urge its
adoption by this people. The chief reason, is, that by its adoption,
this nation would link its cultural progress with that of the English
speaking races. The eminence of these races in the career of modern
civilization, in literature, in science, and in art none of us will-
doubt. If the people of China could be led to adopt and speak the
English language, they would, by so doing, unite their destiny, so
far as civilization is concerned, with the English speaking races.
The gain to China would be incalculable. The inexhaustible mine
of our marvellous English literature would be opened to this people
and would pour its store of wealth into the lap of the nation.

But in advocating this scheme, you must not by any means,
understand me as saying I am in favor of an exchange of the
English for the Chinese by this people. The object in bringing in
the English would not be to drive out, or supersede, but to enrich,
their own lauguage. And I would be most unwilling to accept
any plan for the advancement of culture in China which did not
keep this in view. The masses can best—perhaps I should say,
can only, be reached through their own native speech, and the
object should be to ennoble and enrich it by accessions of strength
and beauty from a literature like the English, until it becomes
itself a means for the increase of culture.

What other language can accomplish this result for China ?
It has been well said that e< in no language has a pyramid of litera-

Augnst.] .SCHOOLS ETC, BE ADOPTED IS CHINA, 251

tare, so high, so broad, so deep so wondrous, been erected, as in
the English. In no other language are there such storied memories
of the past. No other nation has wrestled, like the English, with
Man and Truth and Time and everything great and difficult; and no
Janguage, accordingly, is so full of all experiences and utterances,
human and divine. Like that great world-book, the Bible, which
has done so much to ennoble and purify it, it has an equipment
for its special office as the bearer of that book to all nations,
grand and beautiful in its adaptations to the wants of universal

humanity.Before it as before the ideas which it bears like

a flaming sword against all forms of oppression and despotism,
the world everywhere bends in submission; and it is fast stamping
its own enduring impress and enforcing its laws of personal and
social life, on every part of the world, civilized and savage.”*

2. After the Common Schools, there should be a higher grade
for those who are fitted for, and desire, a higher education. The
course of study iu this grade should include the elements of science
and mathematics, the study of foreign languages, history, geogra¬
phy, and literature. Schools of this kind should be organized in
the more important centres of the empire, and should be multiplied
as fast as the supply of suitable candidates will justify.

3. There should be institutions of a still more advanced
character, in ichick the highest general culture should be given. Such
students as desire to enter some learned career or profession, or
some of the higher branches of the government service should find
their highest aspirations and needs met here. These institutions
should correspond to the Colleges of the United States and Great
Britain.

4. There should be technical schools in which the students might
find instruction in the various professions and arts. The Chinese
are largely an agricultural people; hut they have also large
maritime interests. They have a coast line of vast extent. One
of the mightiest rivers in the world is theirs. Sweeping through
their immense territory, it receives many tributaries both from the
northern and southern provinces, and bears on its bosom the
■commerce of more than 150,000,000 of peopleu For such a people
navigation can not fail to be an important study. In such schools
it could be taught, as also the use of the essential instruments and
the methods in use iu its practical application. In these schools
•also should be trained engineers in the art of building roads, rail¬
ways, bridges, steam-engines, and various kinds of machinery.

• Dwight's 14 Modern Philology," first soiiea. p.136-7.

252 HOW FAB SHOULD TUB CUBRICULUM8 OF WESTERN [July-

Western countries have established such schools and have found
them an important factor in the progress of their civilization.
China’s circumstances demand the organization of some such
schools.

5. In connection with the instruction in navigation there should
he established an Astronomical Observatory, by which the elements
necessary to the science of theoretical and physical astronomy may
be ascertained, and upon the establishment of which must depend the
accurate measurement and publication of time; and iu connection
with the Colleges to .which I have referred under the third head,
should be erected Museums, in which may be gathered the various
collections which illustrate science and the arts. Specimens of the
minerals, rocks, timbers, and useful products, as well as examples
of the manufacturing skill of the country, should be brought
together here for instruction and comparison. To secure the best
results in education such an observatory and such museums will be
as necessary for China as for other countries.

6. Then, lastly, there should be, what are known in the United
States as Normal Schools for the special training of teachers. Of
the different grades of schools I have here mentioned and recom¬
mended for China, this is by no means the least important. In the
normal school the teacher is drilled for his difficult and responsible
work. He is to be a teacher of science, and he is received into
labratories and instructed in the use of apparatus and in the methods
of illustrating the subjects he is to teach by appropriate experiments.
There are some considerations which make the founding of a num¬
ber of such schools in this country, of the utmost importance to
China. The normal school will be the “ sine qua non ” of the system
I am here recommending. The first requisite for their efficiency
and success will be to provide an efficient corps of professors and
teachers. Teaching is an art, an art by no means easily acquired.
In Western lands you will occasionally meet with a born teacher; a
few rare women, and a less number of men, there' are, who, with
little special training, take naturally to this work and make success¬
ful teachers. But the rule is, that there is no short cut, that there
are no easy steps to eminence, or even success, in this calling.
In China the born teachers are yet unborn, and the trained ones are
exceedingly rare. The reason is, that “in this land of uniformity,
all processes in arts and letters are fixed by universal custom,” and

every step in the process of teaching is determined by unalterable
nsuage,” and “ the man who sits iu the seat of the philosophers has
not yet awakened to the fact that his profession is one which can
allow him the least room for tact and originality.” The normal

August.] SCHOOLS etc!, be adopted in china. 253

school will give him a hotter view both of the truest dignity and
the highest success.

In all these schools, from the lowest to the highest, the Bible
should hold a conspicuous place; the sublime and ennobling princi¬
ples of the Christian religion should be taught, and, with the fewest
possible exceptions, only Christian teachers should be employed.

This in brief, is the system of Western education I would see
introduced and adopted in China, bringing with it the curriculums
of Western Schools, and the methods of teaching used in the West,
with only such modifications as already existing institutions, and
the peculiar circumstances of the case may seem to demand.

I proceed now to show why this should be done. It is a result
to which both the advantages and the defects of the Chinese system
should lead. The former are not so numerous or so important as to
require large space in describing them. There is, however, one
capital advantage in their system to which I must call attention. It
is found in their Competitive Examinations. Extending as it does
throughout the Empire, into every governmental division and sub¬
division, and being wholly under the contral of the government, it
would be easier, I think, to introduce the methods we propose than
if no such system had been tried and were now in vogue in China.
Undoubtedly, it has been a great blessing to the country. For
while it has not orgainzed or sustained any public schools, it has
done much to encourage learning. It is not too much to say that
every private school in the empire, from the days of its first intro¬
duction down to the present moment, has been encouraged and
benefited this system.

Now, I think it favorable to our scheme that this system exists
in China. It will give us a fulcrum on which to rest that lever by
which we are not only to overturn the mountain of indifference and
opposition which is sure to confront us, but by which we shall
at last lift pur enterprise into general acceptance and ultimate
success.

Our plan would be not to fell this giant tree of the centuries,
which sends its roots deep down into its native soil and extends its
mighty arms far and wide over the land. It would be, rather, to
cut off these branches and ingraft upon them the young and
vigorous cions from our Western system, which, not destroying the
life of the ancient stock, would not only soon clothe it with new and
unsurpassed beauty, but vastly increase the quantity and as greatly
inprove the quality of the fruit it bears. For we would not dena¬
tionalize the Chinese. In giving them a better civilization we would
not do so by sapping the foundations of institutions which have long

254 HOW pah SHOULD THE CURRicClUHS of Astern [July-

been revered for their local and national associations, and which,
without material change, may be made the best elements of the new
system. Conceding so much to their national self-respect, we will be
doing much to make what is new in our scheme both attractive to
the people and acceptable to the government we would benefit by it.

This system of competitive examinations is the one redeeming
feature of their system and it is much in our favor that we can so
heartily accept it.

But, besides this, I may mention some other favoring circum¬
stances. (I) In China political power is concentrated. This makes
it easy to promulgate laws. (2) Political divisions are well defined.
These, by their established centres afford organic points from which
organization might easily radiate. (3) The Chinese are eminently
a practical people. In consequence of this, their co-operation ought
to be the more easily won.

But I am also to speak of the defects of the Chinese system of
education. These are neither few nor unimportant. These I find
pointed out in one of the most just, most discriminating, and, at the
same time, most readable books, on Chinese themes, that has yet
fallen under my eye. I refer to Dr. Martin’s “Hanlin Papers',”
and, if he were not present, I would say I count myself happy in
being able to consult, and shall take pleasure in quoting from, an
authority at once so impartial, so reliable, and so entertaining.

1. One grave defect in the Chinese system is its failure to de¬
mand, and so its failure to secure, for the pupil any home training prior
to his entering school . It is the towering fault of their' system that
it denies to woman the means of making home refined and cultivated.
“ With us the family is the first school..... With us the dawn of
knowledge precedes the use of books, as the rays of morning,
refracted by the atmosphere and glowing with rosy hues, anticipate
the rising sun.” In. China it is all very different. “ Here the
language of the fireside is not the language of the booksnor is it
at the mother’s knee that the first impulse to a literary career is
imparted to the child. With us the family is made the great source
of the formation of character and the chief instrumentality for the
training of the young. But here the child’s most impressible years
are allowed to run to waste; for, alas, “ the Chinese home is not a
hot-bed for the development of mind.” Dr. Martin asserts that,
European children exhibit more thought at five than Chinese
children do at twice that age. I am convinced “this is not a
partial judgment, nor is the fact to be accounted for by a difference
of race; for in mental capaoity the Chinese is not inferior to the
' most favored nation.’ ” It is a defect in their educational system.

August.] SCHOOLS ETC, BE ADOPTED IN CAINA. 255

2. Another defect of their’s is the denial to the student the
stimulus of companionship in study. In our system this companion¬
ship forms a powerful incentive and is one element of the widely-
extending, all pervading influence of our schools. In China we
have nothing of the sort. Here each pupil stands apart; and thus
to the Chinese student are lost the advantages which, in Western
countries, result from the stimulating rivalry of the class-room.
During the earlier years of his school-life, fear, if it he not the only,
is certainly the strongest motive addressed to the mind of the
scholar. Severity in the teachers is hence accounted the first virtue.
The effect of it all is to retard development and make the learner
cringing and pliant for the remainder of his life. We see it in
each' strata of Chinese society, the people in each bending in base
humility and timid servility to the officials above them.

3. A third defect in their system is the undue prominence they
give to the memory, to the injury of the other faculties of the mind.
Hardly anything could be more dreary than the years of the first
stage in the Chinese course of study. The student's books are in a
dead language, and, for years, the sounds of their characters convey
absolutely no meaning to his mind. No effort is made to impart
life to them by giving the pupil even an occasional glimpse of their
signification. “The whole of this first stage," as Dr. Martin
affir ms, and as we all know, “ is a dead lift of the memory, unalle¬
viated by the exercise of any other faculty."—I am glad to admit
that, under our system, this prominence given to the memory would
prove an advantage, but under theirs it appears to me a cruel evil.

4. It is the misfortune of the Chinese system that “ the primi¬
tive form of their speech renders it most difficult to train pupils in
the art of composition." This is a serious draw-back. I confess, if
I may be allowed to quote from a chapter of my own experience,
I never fully appreciated the beauty of the rules of Etymology,
Syntax, and Prosody for the Latin and Greek languages and for
my own tongue, until I came to this Flowery Land and undertook
the study of che Han Wen. I could find nothing in the books on
the principles of Declension or Conjugation. My teacher though
a “Budding Genius," a “Promoted Scholar," and “Beady for
Office," and all that, could bring me little help. I could not dis¬
cover that their verbs had either “Roots" or “Terminations."
There were no “Prefixes" to throw light on the darkness. Redu¬
plicate and augment my efforts as I might, I could discover neither
“Augment" nor “Reduplication.” I could find no “Tense-signs"
nor even the sign of a tense. My diligent search for “Flexible
Endings" ended in nothing. I opened and closed my prolonged

256 HOW PAR SHOULD THE CURIUCULUMS OP WESTERN [July-

investigation without a glimpse of the “Affixes,” “Open” or
“Close.” Nor did I fare better when I made the “Euphonic,” the
“Emphatic” and the “Anomalous Changes” the objects of my
inquiry. I never could tell when one should come in and another
go out. They all seemed anomalous enough to me, and I gave
over the attempt, feeling it was a clear case of parturient monies et
nascetur ruliculus mus. I was forced to settle down to the conviction
that Chinese verbs have neither voice, mood nor tense and that
their nouns are innocent of gender, number and person. It was
some relief to know that such profound sinologues as Dr. Martin
and Bishop Schereschewsky had made the same discovery. But this
did not render easy this most difficult of the languages of men.
An d I am sure the native student, as well as the foreigner, finds
here a serious draw-back.

5. The limited range of their studies is another serious defect in
their system. Their course is conspicuous for what it lacks.
It contains nothing beyond the “ Thirteen Classics.” Science and
the arts are wholly ignored. Compare this meager and one-sided
course with that of the higher schools and Colleges of the West—
their name is legion—and what a contrast! A glance at the cata¬
logue of any one of the institutions of this kind in the United
States or Great Britain as that of Yale, or Princeton, or Harvard,
or Cornell, or Michigan University, in the former country; or
Oxford or Cambridge, in the latter, for instance—will reveal a
curriculum containing studies profound enough, and a list long
enough to cause the brain of any but a real lover of learning to
swim. And yet there are thousands of graduates issuing from
these schools every year. These bands of ardent and educated
young men hold the highest vantage-ground, and, leaving their
alma maters well equipt for any service, they go forth to lead the
age in every path of improvement. They go forth to labor in every
exalted calling, their wholesome and ample training having fitted
them to ennoble Society, elevate its tastes, purify its relationships,
and dignify its manners.

But how utterly foreign is all this to the Chinese Academician!
And what but this defect in his system of education has placed him
so far in the rear of the world's great march ? The true explanation
is in this. For their system has kept him occupied with words
rather than with things; with letters rather than with science.

6. Another defect of their system is found in the fact that
it reaches so small a fraction of the population even with this limited
course. Not content with striking off, at a single blow, one half
the population of the empire, in withholding this boon from woman,

August.] SCHOOLS ETC, BE ADOPTED IN CHINA. 257

it extends it really to but a small percentage of the more favored
sex. Taking the average for the towns and rural districts, ec the
proportion will not exceed one in twenty for the male sex, and one in ten
thousand for the female” Truly a humiliating state of things 1 We
had thought the country that can boast the invention of the art
of printing, and those two millennium plants, the Imperial University
and the Hanlin Academy, would have a better exhibit for the eyes
of the world than that! How does this compare with the United
States, where the ratio of illiteracy is not one in twenty, though
cui* educational system is not yet an hundred years old ?

7. But I come now to mention what I conceive to be the most
serious defect of the Chinese system. It is what I may call its non-
recognition of God. I would not too severely blame the people of
China for this. For “ faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God.” The founders of the system were without that word.
They could not build better than they knew; and this defect of
their system is to be deprecated rather than its authors censured.
Deprecated it must be, in all earnestness: for in the Chinese schools
only Confucius is taught. But, as the learned translator of the
Classics has said, “no light was thrown by Confucius on the
pi-oblems of human condition and destiny.” Confucius ff was not
troubled about the origin of man, nor did he seek to know about
his hereafter.” In regard to the doctrine of God, Confucius, as
Dr. Legge shows, came far short of the faith of the older sages.
The influence of his teachings and example stands fully committed
to that species of idolatry which has done more than all else to
dethrone God in China. I mean ancestral worship. It is this
exclusion of God from the schools of China that has done more than all
else to check the spirit of inquiry and clog the wheels of progress in
this land. And I see but little hope for a brighter day—for that
Renaissance for which we all so ardently long—until the faith of the
nation shall be shifted from China’s sage to the world’s Sage and
Savior—from.Confucius to Christ. Nor can this great result he
accomplished in any but one way, viz: by making the religion of
the Bible universal throughout the empire. But this is a work in
which the schools of the land must have a prominent part, or it will
be delayed indefinitely. The finger of God’s providence and all the
indices of history point in this direction and teach us this lesson.

These, then, are some of the defects, of the Chinese system of
education, and this the bill of indictment I bring against it. The
list might be lengthened, but it is already long enough to condemn
the system, and to show the imperative need of its beiug superseded
by a. better. That better system is to come from the Christian

258 sow pah should the cUSeicolums op western [July*

lauds of the West. By r chat means can it be brought iti, and luno far
can it be adopted and established bv China ? Are the questions here
proposed for our discussion'. As to the second, it is my conviction
that this western system, in all its main features, ought to be
received and adopted’ by this country. On its advantages much
might be said. The theme is a tempting one. But in this presence
it ie not necessary that I should enlarge; and I proceed to offer
some suggestions as to the means by which this excellent school
system should be adopted and maintained in' China.

1. The matter should be taken hold of by both the government
and the people of the country. To secure the highest results the
system should be made universal. The government must adopt it
and make it its foster-child. It will not come hither uninvited, nor
stay long if it find not a warm' place in the hearts of both rulers
and ruled.

2. But, since little can be done without organization, education
in China, as in Western lands, should be erected into a Department
of State, with its appropriate Minister. This Minister,, with the rest
of the Cabinet, should constitute a Board of Education,, from which,
under proper advice, the laws and regulations of the schools might
proceed. Each political division should have its educational presi¬
dent and each sub-division itB triple corps of directors. This board/
should have especial reference to the common schools; but those of
the higher grades should also' come under its control and be
supported by its fostering care. In order to the existence, and
permanence, as well as efficiency, of such a system of schools, made
thus universal, State action will be indispensable. There will be
room for private effort; and private, local and ecclesiastical schools
will be supported here; as in other countries, by funds given for the
purpose by wealthy and public spirited men r and the government
will do well to encourage and foster such by law; for private
effort, however stimulated, will be found to be utterly inadequate
to the wants of a system of schools like this, designed to be
made general throughout the nation. Experience hae taught that
universal education must depend on universal taxation, direct or
indirect. When this system is brought to China it will need to
have its roots in the national revenue, or it will never succeed in
extending its benign blessings to all classes. In no other way
can education be made free to all. Hence this government should,
in organizing, or readjusting, its educational system, by a direct
tax upon all its subjects, fair and equal, seek to raise an ample
fund for the support of its schools, to be Bacredly set apart for this
sacred purpose.

August.] 8CH00LS ETC, BE ADOPTED IN CHINA. 25$

This is the system of education we recommend, and this the
plan we suggest to secure its adoption and permanent support. Are
the Chinese people and government ready for it ? Not yet. Are
they tending toward it? Yes; but not as fast as we could wish.

3. What interest, then, have missionaries in this enterprise, and
what can they do to bring about so glorious a result —fraught with such
unspeakable blessings to this great people ? We have, and the
whole missionary body, in this country, has, I think, an unspeak¬
able interest in it, and we can do much in preparing tbe way for the
introduction of this system of education into China. For, let it be
remembered, the schools we call for (though in them, in the nature
of the case, the Christian religion can never assume the position of
a final cause) are to be Christian Schools, the Bible and the religion
of the Bible both having a kingly place in them. Unless they are
to be such schools the less we have to do in bringing them to China
the better; for I have no sympathy with the dogma now taught in
some quarters, “ that knowledge is an ultimate good in itself, irres¬
pective of its aims, irrespective of the question whether it has any
aims, and apart from the quality of soul with which it is got and
held.” For “that is a doctrine that terminates in one of two sorts
of heathenism—in intellectual idolatry, or else in scientific materia¬
lism.” We must not forget that knowledge in not the world’s
Savior; nor that the Kingdom of heaven is not built in the brain;
nor that some of the most intelligent communities that have ever
lived, have been socially and morally the most corrupt. Ancient
Athens, in its palmy days, was by far the most cultivated city of the
ancient world, and we have much evidence also that it was morally
the most degraded. In modern French history the court of Louis
XIV shone with the splendor of the highest intellectual culture,
and shocks us also by its awful profligacy and licentiousness. Then
it was that “ Genius was made a gorgeous glutton, and, existing
only for its own beatitude, gloated over its epicurean messand
“knowledge was adored for its divinity though all the heart-beats
of Society were silenced and though the beauty of the morning
bloomed and brightened across a faithless world 1”

Now it is to prevent the recurrence of such a state of Society
in China that we are called to do a work of momentous importance
in this matter of determining, or helping to determine, the character
of the future educational institutions of this country. How shall
we do it ? Not by standing aloof, and saying because the school and
the academy are not God's chief agencies for the conversion of men,
therefore we, as missionaries have no interest in them. Rather we
should regard science as the handmaid of religion, and, if we only

260 HOW FAR SHOULD THE CURRICULUMS OF WESTERN SCHOOLS ETC. [July-

exalt God and the Bible in the schools, remembering that He puts
a positive value on intellectual activity, and that it is only when
science refuses the companionship of religion that it becomes per¬
nicious, we may go on multiplying these to the extent of our ability
and need not fear they will fail to subserve the highest interests of
this nation, bringing in a Christian civilization, and greatly helping
us, though indirectly it may be, in our chosen work of building up
the Christian Church in this Empire.

Just how the Government is to be made to feel the importance
on its part of taking so bold a step, we may Dot 'now see. But let
us have faith in God. Let us not try to outrun Providence, nor
lose heart if results seem dela} T ed. Let us possess our souls in
patience. God is shaping this nation’s destiny. If this scheme is
of Him it cannot fall to the ground, however chimerical it may now
appear to some. Let us appreciate at its full value, if we can, the
grandeur of the opportunity God has given us. Let us do our parts
well. Let all the schools that we plant—and let ns plant as many
as we can sustain—be such as we have here recommended ; schools
where the student shall be developed into tbe bigest type of man—
a Christian scholar;—his three-fold nature—intellectual, moral and
religious—having a three-fold culture.

It is more than possible we may have an important work to do
in preparing the way for this grand result. It may be that the
Christian benevolence and the Christian enterprise of our home
lands will need to come hither, and found many of these schools,
begining with the lowest and stopping only with the highest; and
test here, on China’s own soil, the wisdom of the scheme, giving
both government and people the most tangible proof of its great
utility. Especially may it be that this object shall be best advanced
and that this demonstration shall be best made by founding a con¬
siderable number of Normal Schools, by trained Christian mon from
the United States and Great Britain, in which the best native Chris¬
tian minds, both male and female, shall be qualified for the high
and responsible office of Teacher. It will be of the utmost impor¬
tance that Christianity lead the way in this enterprise, so that the
culture and the civilization of the new era shall be a Christian
culture and a Christian civilization. Especially let us never for¬
get that, while Christianity and science can never be divorced,
the latter owes far more to the former than the former does to
the latter.

It is only in this way that wc shall see a glorious, spiritual
Church and the highest type of civilization growing up together
in China.

August.] THE APOSTOLIC METHOD OP PREACHING THE GOSPEL.

261

THE APOSTOLIC METHOD OF PREACHING THE GOSPEL AS
PRESENTED IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES AND
IN THE EPISTLES.

By An Evangelist.

ITI SSI ON ARIES are not the successors of the Apostles in their
distinctive work of bearing witness to the resurrection of
Christ by signs and wonders and miracles of healing. But they are
in common with their follow ministers of Christ in Christian lands,
successors to the Apostles as Preachers of the Gospel to their fellow
men. They are especially successors of the Apostles as they are
preachers of the Gospel among the heathen.

For the reason that the work we are engaged in is in some
respects nearly identical witli that in which some of the Apostles
were engaged, their example and their methods of works, so far as
they are made known to us, have a special interest for us. They are
of special importance to us, because they are an authoritative guide
to us in our work when it is prosecuted under similar circumstances
to those under which they performed theirs. But. that we may
better understand the statements of their methods of work, and the
specimens of their preaching which have come down to us, it is im¬
portant to understand their conception of their office and of the work
they had to do; their conception of the character and condition of
mankind to whom they were sent as well as of the message which
they were authorised and commissioned to bear to then* follow men;
all these points have an intimate and necessary connection with the
manner in which they discharged the duties of their office.

First then we are to consider for a moment their conception of
their office, and the work they had to do.

We will arrive at a correct understanding of these points by
referring to the commission of our Lord to his disciples and their
conception of this command.

In commissioning his disciples our Blessed Lord and Saviour
said, “All power is given to me in heaven and on earth. Go ye
therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo,
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Matt, xxviii. 18, 19, 20. And again its reads as given in Mark,
u He said unto them Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel
to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
.but be that believeth not shall be damned.” Mark xvi. 15, 16.

262 THE APOSTOLIC MBTHOD OP PREACHING THE QOBPEL. [July-

Luke records a part of our Blessed Lord’s instructions thus, “ He
said unto them, thus it is written and thus it behooved Christ to
suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance
and remission of sin’s should be preached among all nations begin¬
ning at Jerusalem.” Luke, xm. 46, 47.

The Apostle Paul expresses his conception of the high calling
thus, “Now then we are Ambassadors for Christ, as though God did
beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to
God.” 2 Cor. v. 20. Peter, on the day of Pentecost having received
the promised gift of the Holy Spirit said unto them, “ Repent and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost
and with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying save
yourselves from this untoward generation.” Acts ii. 88-40, and
again. “ This is the stone which is set at nought of you builders,
which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation
in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved.” Acts m. 11, 12.

The Apostle Paul again says, “I am debtor both to the Greeks,
and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as
much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you who are at
Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is
the power of God to Salvation to every one that bolieveth; to the
Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of
God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written the just shall live by
faith.” Rom. i. 14-17-18-25. And again we have a further expression
of the conception of the Apostles as given in Acts v. 29-32, inclusive.

These passages of the word of God in which are recorded the
commission as given by our Lord and Saviour, and the conception
of the representative Apostles as expressed by themselves plainly
teach us these great principles and truths in regard to the points
under consideration. The Gospel is a remedial measure provided by
God, of Ilia own infinite love and mercy for lost and ruined sinners
who are justly under his righteous condemnation. Second, that the
authorized and commissioned Ministers of the Gospel are sent by
God as his Ambassadors to condemned sinners to make known to
them the conditions of pardon and reconciliation; and to persuade
them to accept of these offers of mercy and deliverance. Third, these
passages teach that men are sinners againt God having transgressed
his holy and righteous law and are thereby justly exposed to its awful
penalty. Fourth, that besides the name of Jesus, whom God has
appointed the only Mediator between God and man, there is no other
name under heaven given among men whereby they can be saved.

August.] THE APOSTOLIC METHOD 0? PREACHING THE GOSPEL. 263

The subject of present inquiry is how the Apostles, who bore
such a, high commission on a matter of such transcendent importance
to their fellow men and one attended with such far reaching
consequences, carried out their divinely given instructions.

Let us examine the statements of the Apostle Paul in regard
to his manner of pursuing his work in one of the most important
fields of the many in which he labored.. Corinth may be accepted
as a fair representative of the cities in which missionary labors
are carried on now. It is thus described in Harper’s Cyclopaedia of
Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiatical Literature, at the time of
Paul’s visits and labors then. " Corinth was a place of great
mental activity, as well as of commercial and manufacturing
enterprise. Its wealth was so celebrated as to be proverbial;
so were the vice and profligacy of its inhabitants. The worship of
Venus here was attended with shameful licentiousness. All these
points are indirectly illustrated by passages in the two Epistles to
the Corinthians.” Vol. n. p. 508, The statements which are found
incidentally in these epistles as well as other contemporaneous history
make known to us that the people of this wealthy and idolatrous
city had many characteristics in common with the people of the
cities in China and Japan and India. They were idolaters, they
had letters and systems of Philosophy, and they had a certain
degree of civilization and culture. It is therefore very instructive
to us to know how the Apostle of the Gentiles, who had been
educated in the Grecian Philosophy in the schools of Cilicia, as well
as in the Rabbinical lore of Jerusalem, made known the Gospel to
the people of Corinth. Many would tell us that he would seek
to secure a hearing for the Gospel by discoursing to them of the
prevailing views of philosophy, by a display of his learning in the
various sciences, and thus finding some common ground in science
and religion where he and his hearer could meet. But fortunately
for the interests of truth we have the Apostle’s own account of his
method in preaching to them. He says; “I, brethren, when I
came to you, came not with the excellency of speech or of wisdom,
declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined
not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him
crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear, and in
much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with
enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the
Spirit and of power.” 1 Cor. n. 1-4, The Apostles here states
the matter both negatively what ho did not do, and positively what
he did do. He did not attempt to lead them to the knowledge of
the Gospel by the excellency of speech, or of hupian wisdom,, and

264 THE APOSTOLIC METHOD OP PREACHING THE GOSPEL. [July-

he, of set purpose and for sufficient reasons, determined to know
nothing among them but Jesus Christ and him crucified. The
reasons for this determination were fully considered and were of
great cogency. He says 11 For after that in the wisdom of God the
world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. 1 Cor. i. 21. By “ the
foolishness of preaching ” we are to understand preaching that
which the world considers foolishness ; i.e. the gospel in its offer of
pardon and salvation to sinful men. This is to the men of the
world foolishness. They consider it inefficacious to effect any good
result.—They seek after something which comports to their ideas
of the fitness of things and tho proprieties of life, and which is
adapted to commend itself to human reason; or as the Apostle
expresses it in regard to the two great classes of mankind, “ For
the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom.” He also
states how these two different classes of men, with their different
mental characteristics, regard the plan of salvation through a
a crucified redeemer — n unto the Jews it is a stumbling block and
to the Greeks it is foolishness.” To those who are self-righteous
and trustful in their own good works it is a ground of offense,
of stumbling; and to those who are wedded to human learning and
to various systems of philosophy, it is foolishness. But unto them
which are called, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ crucified is the
power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because that which is of
God, though regarded by men as foolishness, is wiser than any
thing which man in his boasted wisdom has devised or can propose.

In this succint statement of the subject matter of bis preaching,
“l determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ
and him crucified” Paul is not to be understood in any narrow sense
which would exclnde every thing else but this one point. It must
of course be understood that this was the great central doctrine of
the religion which he taught; and that in connection with this great
theme he discoursed of all the other doctrines of the Christian system
which are affiliated with this and which have a natural and logical
relation to and connection with it. Some of these affiliated truths
are these ; the existence of one God, the creator and Ruler of men,,
who is possessed of such moral attributes as makes him the rewarder
of the good and the punisher of evil, who is merciful and com¬
passionate, ready to forgive transgression and sin: that sin is the
transgression of law and merits the punishment which God has
appointed to it; that man has trangressed the law of God, and is
therefore exposed to his righteous displeasure, and to the penalty of
the'law; that man is unable by any works of righteousness which he

August.] TEE APOSTOLIC METHOD OP PREACHING THE GOSPEL. 265

himself can do to make atonement for sin or commend himself to
the favor and forgiveness of God; but, that God of his own free
and unmerited grace has provided a plan for man’s redemption in
that he has given his own dear son to die on the cross for man’s
redemption, and that now mercy and a free pardon are offered to
condemned sinners through Jesus Christ and him crucified; that there
is to be a future judgment, when the righteous will be rewarded
and the wicked will be punished; that these are the doctrines
which are all " necessarily implied by the great theme Christ and
him crucified” can be easily verified by an examination of Paul’s
Epistle to the Romans whero he has set forth the doctrines connected
with the cross in a more connected and systematic manner than he
has done in the Epistles to the Corinthians. In the Epistle to the
Romans he in the same clear and decided manner expresses his
adherence to the cross of Christ when he says, “ I am not ashamed
of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to
every one that believeth.” Rom. i. 16. We seldom realize the
moral courage that was implied in making this declaration. Paul was
writing to the Christians resident in the Imperial City of the Roman
Empire. It was the seat of the greatest human power, and of
the display of all human greatness and wealth; it gave law and rule
to all the surrounding nations; from it went forth the mighty legions
that carried out the commands of the mighty Emperor, while the
followers of Jesus were despised and counted as the offscouring of
the earth. It was under these circumstances that Paul, in the deep
conviction of the divine origin of the Gospel and of its mighty
efficiency for the regeneration of a lost world, declared the deep
feeling and conviction of his heart, I am not ashamed of the Gospel
of Christ which, notwithstanding that all humanly devised schemes
have utterely failed, and though during these four thousand years
the efforts of man’s wisdom to renovate lost men have only resulted
in mankind sinking into lower depths of depravity and wicked¬
ness—(which depths he proceeded most graphically to depict)
he declared this doctrine of a crucified Saviour “was the power of
God to salvation,” not only to the individual soul but also to the
renovation of a depraved and sinful world.

The Apostle then presents in this Epistle, in a most masterly
style, his views of the doctrines which are connected with and
embraced in “ the Gospel of Christ.” I hold that “ the Gospel of
Christ” in Romans is an expression equivalent to “Christ and him
crucified” in the Epistle to the Corinthians. The first fearful state¬
ment reads thus, " For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the

266 THE apostolic method of preaching THE GOSPEL, [July-

truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may he known of
G-od is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even
his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse :
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God,
neither were thankful; but became vain in their imagination, and
their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to bo
wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible
God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and
four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave
them up to uucleanness, through the lusts of their own hearts, to dis¬
honour their own bodies between themselves: Who change the truth
of God iuto a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more
than the Creator, who is blessed, for ever. Amen.” Rom. i. 18-25.

The Apostle then argues with a cogency of reasoning that
cannot be answered that man’s sinfulness and depravity are the
natural and legitimate results of his apostacy from God, and wilful
following of his own sinful desires and then he proceeds to show
that God in his holy displeasure against sin and the sinful conduct of
men must punish it, while at the same time he rewards the righteous.

■"But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to
truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou
this, 0 man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the
same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God ? Or despisest
thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering;
not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee t o repentance .?
But, after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto
thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the
righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man accord¬
ing to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well
doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But
unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey
unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish,
upon every soul of man that doeth evil; of the Jew first, and also of
the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh
good: to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no
respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without
law shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in
the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the
law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
For when the Gentiles, which have nob the law, do by nature the
things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law

August.] THE APOSTOLIC METHOD OP PREACHING THE GOSPEL. 267

unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their
hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the
meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another); In the day when
God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my
Gospel.” Rom.u. 2 to 16.

In answer to some self-righteous Jews who ‘contended that he
was without sin, the apostle replies to his contention, “What then ?
Are we better than they ? No, in no wise, for we have before proved
both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin.” When an
objector suggests that it would be unjust in God to punish sin,
he asks with a vehemence which arises from a sense of the infinite
holiness and justice of God’s nature, “ I 3 God unrighteous who
takefch vengeance ? (I speak as a man) God forbid, for then how
shall God judge the world.” Rom. m. 7, 8. When any one would
contend that men could be justified in the sight of God, he presents
the testimony of the sacred Scriptures in regard to the moral
character of men in the sight of God, as follows, “As it is written.
There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that under-
standeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone
out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none
that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre;
with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under
their lips : Whpse mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet
arc swift to shed blood : Destruction and misery are in their ways :
And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God
before their eyes. Now we know that what things soever the law
saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth
may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in
his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Rom. in. 10-20.

The Apostle, having thus, by the accumulative testimony of
his own observation as to the conduct and character of all classes of
men shown the depravity of their hearts, and the sinfulness of
their lives, by the witness of their own consciences to their own
ill deserts, and by the declarations of God’s word, proceeds to show
that when in this state of condemnation by reason of their trans¬
gression of a holy law they can not be released from that state of
condemnation by anything which they themselves can do; and then
explains the plan of redemption through the merits of a properly
appointed and accepted substitute. In this connection there follows
properly and logically a statement of the character and qualifica¬
tions of an acceptable substitute for a sinner and by whom alone
he could be appointed. The Apostle declares “there is only one

268 THE apostolic method op preaching the GOSPEL. [Jul y-

mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus ; who gave
himself a ransom for all.” 1 Tim. n. 5, 6. The Apostle propounds
the doctrine of a snhstitue suffering- in the room and place of a
transgressor, and thus purchasing his exemption from the just
deserts of his conduct, as one which is accepted among mankind.
He dilates upon the entire sufficiency of Jesu3 Christ to be the
redeemer of men in that he was holy and perfect, as God man, and
thus capable, in his human nature, of suffering, and by reason of
his divine nature these sufferings possessing infinite value in mak¬
ing atonement for the sins of men in whose place he stood, and for
whom he suffered. When some would call in question the efficacy
of such a plan of justification by such an all glorious and sufficient
Saviour he exclaims in the vehemence of his convictions, and the
assurance of his confidence, e< and whom he called, them he also
justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Wliat shall
we then say to these things ? If God be for us, who can be against
us ? He that spared not hri own Sou, but delivered him up for
us all, how shall lie not with him also freely give us all things ?
Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God
that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died,
yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of
God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Rom. viii. 30-34.

The Apostle frequently reiterates the statement, of the future
and general judgment as a truth commonly accepted among men;
but he also more fully states the particular nature of the general
judgment which would be held in the presence of all men, with the
Lord Jesus Christ as the judge of the quick and dead at the last
day, according to the appointment of the great God. ‘-'Because he
hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteous¬
ness by that man whom he hath ordained. Acts xvii. 31, also
Rom. II. 16 and xiv. 10. 2 Cor. v. 10.

As immediately connected with the final judgment, the Apostle
makes the most explicit statement that he had declared unto the
Corinthians the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead as a part of
the Gospel which he preached unto them. 1 Cor. rv. 1 to 32.

“ Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I
preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye
stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I
preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered
unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died
for our sins according to the Scriptures j and that he was buried,
and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures :
and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he

269

August..] THE APOSTOtTC METHOD OF PREACHING TIIF. GOSPEL.

■was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom tho
greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And
last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an
apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace
of God I am what I am: and his grace which wtvs bestowed upon me
was not in vain; but I laboured more.abundantly than they all: yet
not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether
it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. Now if Christ
be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you
that there is no resurrection of tho dead ? But it there be no resur¬
rection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: and if Christ be not
risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea,
and we are found false witnesses of God;. because we have testified
of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be
that the dead riso not. For if the dead riso not, then is not Christ
raised : and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain ; ye are yet in
your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are
perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all
men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and
become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came
death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in
Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every
man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that
are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall
have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when ho
shall have pat down all rule, and all authority and power. For he
must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last
enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For lie hath put all things
under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put under Ami, it
is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son
also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that
God may be all in all’ Else what shall they do which are baptized
for the dead, if the dead rise not at all ? Why are they then
baptized for the dead ? And why stand we in jeopardy every hour ?
I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord,
I die daily. If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts
at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not ? let us eat
and drink; for to morrow we die.”

The Apostle having declared it as a doctrine of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ that all men shall riso again, proceeds to explain how
this wondrous event Bhall be accomplished. 1 Cor. xv. 35-57.

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THE APOSTOLIC METHOD OP PREACHING THE GOSPEL. [July-

“But some man will say. How are the dead raised up ? And
with what body do they come ? Thou fool, that which thou sowest
is nob quickened, except it die: and that which thou sowest, thou
sowest not that body -that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance
of wheat, or of some other grain ; But God giveth it a body as it
hath -pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is
not the same flesh: but there is one hind of flesh of men, another
flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are
also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the
celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There
is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and
another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in
glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in
corruption, it is raised in incorrnption: It is sown in dishonour, it is
raised in glory: it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power : It is
sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural
body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written. The first
man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a
quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but
that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The
first man is of the earth, earthy : the second man is the Lord from
heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and
as is the heavenly, such are they also-that are heavenly. And as we
have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of
the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit
incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all
sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and
the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must
put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then
shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is
swallowed up in. victory. 0 death, where is thy sting ? 0 grave,
where is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin; and the strength
of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ”

We have thus presented from the Apostle’s own writings his
statement of the system of truths which he considered as compre¬
hended in the expression ‘ The Gospel of Christ ’ and ‘ Christ and
him crucified.’ From the narratives and connection of the state¬
ments concerning his preaching, it would appear that he declared

AtlgUSt.] THE APOSTOLIC METHOD OF PREACHING THE GOSPEL. 271

these truths without any previous instruction or circumlocution. He
stated them as truths which were of the highest moment for the
hearers to know, and which they could understand and accept or
reject. And he did this in the sincere belief that these truths were
the power of God to salvation to all those who believe. We know
by the results which followed his preaching that his expectations
were realized and that multitudes everywhere received the truths
which he preached to their own eternal salvation.

We are often referred to one of the Apostle Paul’s discourses
as teaching us a very different plan and stylo of addressing a
heathen audience from that which we have drawn out as pursued
by him. This is his very remarkable discourse to the Philosophers
and the intelligent citizens of Athens as they were gathered on
Mars Hill, and reads thus; Acts xvn. 22 to 34. “Then Paul stood
in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive
that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by,
and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription,
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly
worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and
all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,
dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped
with men’s hxnds, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giyeth
to all liFe, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one
blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth,
aud hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of
their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they
might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every
one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as
certain also of your own poets have said, For we arc also his offspring.
Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to
think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven
by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God
winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Because ho liath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; \c hereof
lie hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him
from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the
dead, some mocked: and others said. Wo will hear thee again of this
matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men
clave unto him, and believed: among the which icas Dionysius the
Arecpagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.”

There are two points to which we are often pointed to show
that Paul was very indulgent to the heathen idolatries and that he

272 THE APOSTOLIC METHOD OP PREACHING THE GOSPEL, [July-

would use their own books to help the effectiveness of his addresses.
The courteousness with which he opened his address was character¬
istic of the Apostle when I 10 commenced an address, whether ho
was speakiug to the Sanhedrim in Jerusalem or to an infuriated
mob from whose hands he has been rescued by the military com¬
mander, or the Roman governor at Caesarea, he always spoke in tho
language of courtesy. To the crowd in Jerusalem he said "Men,
brethren and Fathers, hear ye my defence.” When brought before
the council Paul earnestly beholding the council said " Men and
brethren.” Some of these may hav r o been fellow students with
him at the feet of Gamaliel and they all regarded him with intense
hatred. When called to answer before Felix ho said "For
as much as I know that thou hast been, for many years a judge
in this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself.”
Acts xxiv. 10. And when summoned before King Agrippa he
answered, " I think myself happy King Agrippa, because I shall
answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things
whereof I am accused of the Jews, especially because I know thee
to be expert in.all the customs and questions which are among the
Jews.” Acts xxvi. 2, 3. And when rudely interrupted and insulted
by the governor who said "Paul thou art beside thyself,” ho replied,
"I am not mad, most noble Festus,” xxvi. 24, 25. Paul should
serve, as a model in regard to courtesy in addresing an audience at
alt times. In tho address now under consideration ho wisely
improved an incident that met his attention when walking the
streets of Athens to arrest their attention and secure a hearing for
the truth lie sought to present to them in regard to the one and
only true God; for the inscription on tho altar proved that by their
own admission, there was a God whom they did nob known And he
declared he was able to make this God known to them; thus he had
a claim to bo heard as they were ever ready to hear some new thiDg.

In the prosecution of his discourse, with a tact which never
failed him, ho quoted one of their own poets, by whose statement of a
truth of the early revelation to mankind and which had come down by
tradition, that "man is the offpring of God ” he set before them the
absurdity of the worship of idols, for how could man be the offspring
of the images which his own hands had made ? This address of the
Apostle does most certainly warrant us missionaries in using every
local incident and every ray of truth that may be found either in
their written books, their poetry, their proverbs, their folk love, their
usages and forms of worship, to illustrate divine truth or help them
to understand tho message of salvation which we bring to- them.
This report of the Apostle’s address on Mar’s Hill to the polished

August.] THE APOSTOLIC METHOD OP PREACHING THE GOSPEL. 273

and yet idolatrous; is worth, the most careful study and imitation of
every missionary in adressing a heathen audience. But so far from
teaching us that the Apostle on that occasion pursued a different style
from what we have drawn out 3 we think a careful study of it will
show that he then preached the same Gospel. In the preceding
context we have a statement which makes known to us what had
been the subject of his addresses as he spoke to them in the streets
and market places. Acts xvu. 16-20. “ Now while Paul waited for
them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city
wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue
with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily
with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the
Epicureans, and of the Stoics, encountered him. And some said,
What will this babbler say ? Other some, Ho seemeth to be a setter
forth of Strangs gods: because he preached unto them Jesus,
and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto
Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof
thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our
ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.”

From this narration it is evident that when he encountered the
Philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics he preached to
them the same divinely appointed message, «/<?s«sand the resurrection,
which he preached at Corinth and at Rome. If there was ever a case
where the Preacher of the Gospel might have sought by a recogni¬
tion of some of the teachings of a sect of Philosophers to court
their good opinion the Stoics had strong claims to such a recognition.
That school had exercised a great influence in the world for more
than three hundred years, restraining the corruption of the times and
it numbered many illustrious men among its followers. “ The better
part of Roman Society in both the republican and imperial age,
was profoundly impressed with Stoic doctrine and Stoic discipline.”
Of the teachings of the originator of the sect an admiring follower
said that the had shown ‘'the path to heaven by the way of virtue.”
Zeno “taught his hearers to seek contentment and satisfaction in
conscious rectitude of thought, feeling and conduct; and to recognize
and discharge faithfully every duty; to condemn indulgences; to resist
temptations. In this system of philosophy were some of the truths
which are in the Christian system. Bub Paul, instead of referring to
these, presented to them the Gospel, and preached “Jesus and the
resurrection” and so came in collision with some of their favorite
doctrines and they designated him “ a babbler.” Their question,
“ may we know what this new doctrine whereof thou speakest is”
shows that the Apostle had preached the Gospel unto them even

274

THE APOSTOLIC METHOD OF PREACHING TILE GOSPEL. [July-

though he knew it would be considered foolishness by some of those
who heard him. The latter part oE this sermon of the Apostle,
though we have only an outline of his discourse, affords to ns the
most conclusive proof that the Apostle preached to the intellectual
inhabitants of Athens the very same Gospel that he preached to the
0 >rinthians and the people of the Imperial city. He declares that
God had only, exercised his forbearance at the sinfulness of the
people! and that now he as the rightful Lord and Ruler of men
commandebh all men every where to repent. It matters not what
may be their condition or character among their fellow men, in the
sight of GW tliey are sinners and they must repent of their sins and
turn to God in order to be saved. And he then declares to them
clearly the future judgment of the world by Jesus Christ, and that
the evidence of his appointment to this high position is that God
had raised him from the dead. The manner in which the preaching
of this doctrine was received was that with which we are all familiar
in our own experience in preaching the same doctrines. "And
when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked.” I
recall to mind an incident in one of our Mission Chapels. It was
this. A Native Preacher was preaching salvation by Jesus Christ
the only Saviour, to an audience composed largely of scholars. He
quoted the passage from Mark’s Gospel, “ He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved, and be that believeth not shall be damned.”
On the quoting of this text a large part of the audience got up and
went out of the Chapel as expressive of their dissatisfaction with the
statement. Another has also been told to me. A personal Teacher
of a missionary having some leisure days improved the time by going
to bear some of the Native Preachers. Some of those heard were
connected with the Missionary whose teacher he was and others were
connected with a different Mission. After this wordlv-wise Teacher

V

had gone the rounds he said to the Missionary, “ It is no wonder
that your preachers do not have many hearers. They preach about
Jesus Christ and him crucified. If they will preach as I heard one
in auother Chapel preach they would have many hearers. Well how
did that man preach? Why he told his hearers, ‘You have all
heard of Confucius and Mencius. They were great Teachers, and
we do well to follow their teachings. Jesus Christ is also a great
Teacher. He taught many things which Confucius and Mencius
did not teach and we should also hear and follow his teachings.’
The people were all pleased to hear their own sages thus spoken of.
They all, when the preacher was done said, “ This is pleasant to
hear, we will come again.”

August.] THE APOSTOLIC METHOD OP TREaCHINO THE GOSPEL. 275

The analysis of Paul's Sermon on Mar’s Hill having clearly
shown that Paul, there in the presence of Philosophers and educated
people, though he was courteous in that he did not nee dlessly offend
them, though he used what he fouud in their usages and poets
that would help them to understand his teachings, preached the
same doctrines of salvation which he preached elsewhere notwith¬
standing they would give the same offense to the unbelievers. His
example fully sustains the position taken by an eminent lawyer of
Calcutta, himself a converted Hindu, during tko recent Missionary
Conference in that city when it was under consideration, How the
Gospel conld be best preached to that interesting and influential
class of Hindus who have been educated in Western science and
philosophy. This lawyer in a speech of great power and elegance
advocated the idea that the Gospel was to be preached to them as to
all other lost sinners; that all classes of men are alike sinners in the
sight of God and need to be saved through a Redeemer of sinners.

In this discussion we have confined ourselves to the preach¬
ing of the Apostles among the Gentiles, the heathen who were
worshipper’s of idols and who had only the knowledge of the truths
that pervaded heathen nations. The manner and style of preaching
to Jews and such Gentiles as had received from them the know¬
ledge of divine things as made known in the Old Testament, were
entirely different. This will appear to all who will consult the
record of Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost to the Jews and
proselytes who were at Jerusalem, and his sermon to the friends
and kindred of the Centurion Cornelius who had gathered in his
house to hear the Apostle. This also is most clearly seen in the
record of Paul’s sermon in the Synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia.

“Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and
whosoever among you fcareth God, to you is the word of this salva¬
tion sent. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers,
because they knew , him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets
which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in con¬
demning him. And though they found no cause of death in him,
yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had
fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the
tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the
dead: And he was seen many days of them which came up with him
from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.
And we declare unto you glad, tidings, how that the promise which
was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto ‘ us
their children, in the he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also
written in the second psalm, Thou art ray Bon, this day have I

276 THE APOSTOLIC METHOD OP PREACHING THE GOSPEL. [July-

begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the
dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I
will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also
in another psahn, Thou slialt not suffer thine Holy One to see
corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by
the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw
corruption: But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, through this
man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sin: And by him all
that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not
be justified by the law of Moses,” Acts xm. 26-39.

These instances of their mode of preaching to the Jews show
that in preaching to the Jews and those who had the knowledge of
the revelation given to the Jews, the Apostles referred to their
Scriptures as the sure proof of appointment of the Saviour and
confined their discussion largely to prove this one point viz.; that
Jesus of Nazareth was the long promised Messiah. But their
method of preaching to the Gentiles was entirely different from
that pursued when preaching to the Jews as we have shown above.

The remaining part of our paper is to be occupied with discuss¬
ing the subject how far the people in China have the same know¬
ledge of spiritual things as existed among the Greeks and Romans
in the days of the Apostles. To help us to arrive at the views of the
Chinese we take the paper prepared by Rev. J. Chalmers, LL.D.,
for the International Congress of Orientalists at St. Petersburg
entitled “Chinese Natural Theology ” It may be more fully-
described as stating the views of the Chinese in regard to spiritual
things as gathered from their classical books. In their books is
presented the idea of a Supreme Ruler of whom the attributes of
omniscience, universal rule, benevolence, righteousness, mercifulness
are predicated; that all things are determined by his decrees, that he
is to be served, to be prayed to, to be sacrificed to, and that lie
punishes the wicked. Their classics all teach that earthly rulers
are ordained by Heaven, the supreme Ruler, and that the people are
dependent upon him; that man was made with a good nature aud
that men in doing evil violate the divine law and their own nature,
that while no man is perfectly good, his failure in virtue is not
because of ignorance nor of inability. The benefits of poverty
and hardship to the cultivation of virtue and the danger of riches
to virtue are discussed. The duty of repentance and reformation
are clearly inculcated. The obligation and necessity of - punishing
the wicked is well understood. The idea of the innocent suffering
in. the room and place of the guilty is found in their books. The

August.] THE APOSTOLIC METHOD OF PREACHING THE GOSPEL. 277

virtues o£ truth, faith and reverence are frequently inculcated.
The relative duties between man and man are well understood and
inculcated. These religious sentiments and teachings are all found
in their classical books. In their folk lore, in their idolatrous
usages, and in their exhortations to virtue which are freely distri-
buted among the people we have still fuller and more interesting
presentations of their religious seutiments; these all show to us
their receptiveness for the instructions of the Gospel as a merciful
provision for sinners.

Their idolatrous usages show us that they have an all-pervading
sense of superior beings who rule over men. They conceive of
these beings as having power to confer blessiugs and inflict suffering,
to preserve their worshippers iu life and health, and to send
sickness and calamity, or to prosper them in their business. They
return thanks to their idols at the close of the year for the blessings
received. The common sentiment of this peoplo is that the calamities
of war and pestilence, drought and famine are sent as a punishment
for sins. They also entertain the universal belief that deliverance
from these calamities may be obtained by prayer. Indeed there are
very few duties and services inculcated in the Bible as due to the
true God which are not found in practice among this people towards
their idols. The sense of the need of deliverance from their
sufferings and distresses has led to the conception of a special idol
to whom the attribute of mercy belongs, and to whom they specially
apply in all circumstances of sorrow and trouble. This idol is
called the goddess of mercy. To her are ascribed many of the
attributes and offices that belong to the only Redeemer of men.
The evil deserts of sin are universally felt and acknowledged. This
is expressed very tersely in the most current of their proverbs,
“The righteous have a righteous reward, the wicked have a wicked
reward.” The truth and justness of this aphorism, one never
controverted, are universally accepted. This sentiment pervades
their ideas in all the relations of life, in the family, in the state
and iu their relation to the gods. It is held to be of universal and
invariable application. Hence the infliction of punishment is every¬
where seen, in the family, in the school, in the neighbourhood, in
their law courts of every grade. In their relation to the gods
the belief of punishment in the future world for sins committed
in this life is universal in the minds of the people. Though it
may be said that this belief does not find a prominent place in
the teachings of Confucianism, yet the fact that this belief is
widely prevalent if not universally prevalent, cannot be denied.
.It gives a complexion to the burial rites all classes. The existence

278 THE APOSTOLIC METHOD OF PREACHING THE GOSPEL. [July-

of a place of future punishment is the common belief of the massess.
Priests both of the Buddhist and Taouist sects are called in
to pray for the deliverance of the souls, of the dead from the
torments of hell. Thousands and tens of thousands of dollars are
given freely, in return for such prayers. The large numbers
of those who abstain from animal food, and say prayers, and do
good works that they may acquire merit and thus make up for
their evil deeds, evidence how wide spread is the desire in the hearts
of this people to escape the just punishment of their sins. By
reason of the phlegmatic temperament of this people there is a
prevailing error in regard to the religious sentiment among them.
But I would ask what lias filled this land with idol temples and
altars ? What causes this constant rendering of worship to the gods on
the 1st and 15th of every month, on all the birth days of the several
gods, and on the respective feast days and during the closing days
of each departing and the first fifteen days of each new year ?
What has endowed these well endowed monasteries and nunneries
which are found in every part-of the country ? What has covered
the great mountain in Shangtung with temples and altars and
built such enduring and costly mounments in the mountains of
Sjcchuen Province ? These and many other things prove beyond
all successful contradiction that the China people have the
same hopes and fears, the same religious sentiments, a reverence
for and worship of the gods, the same kind of apprehensions of a
coming judgment, and the punishment of the wicked, the same
desires to render some satisfaction for sin and thereby secure
exemption from the deserved punishment thereof as had the
Greeks and the Romans. All these things might have been inferred,
without any recourse to external evidences, from the fact which
Paul declares to the Greeks of Athens. [The Lord of heaven] “ hath
made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of
the earth/* Acts. xvii. 26. The fact that all men of all nations are
of one blood implies that they have the same faculties and powers of
mind and soul. Hence it is the most natural thing to find that
the China people who are without the written revelation from
God as were the Greeks and Romans, should have the very same
religious characteristics and sentiments as had the people of those
nations. Whatever different systems of philosophy and usages may
be found in China, they are so unimportant that they do not affect
the fundamental fact that modern people in all essential particulars
have the same moral chard-eristics and the same religious sentiments
as the ancient nations had.

27£

August.] THE AI'OSTOLIC METHOD OF TREACHIKO THE GOSPEL.

It being thus established that the people whom we preach to
have the same moral characteristics ancl the religious sentiments as
those Gentiles had to whom the Apostles preached, it follows as the
logical conclusion that we aro to fulfill onr high commission by
preaching the Gospel to them in the same way as did the Apostles to
those of their day. The excellency and efficiency of this course is
established by the experience of all missionaries as well as com¬
mended to us by the example and precepts of the Apostles. We
have ourselves seen persons of every class and condition in Society
come to an experimental and transforming knowledge of the Gospel
from this mode of preaching. Some of them have been from among
the young and the aged/ the literate and the illiterate, men and wo¬
men. I have seen the old woman of 80 years of age, who during
her life time had been engaged in worshipping idols, on hearing of
the gospel plan of salvation, by relying upon the merits of a God
appointed Saviour, give up the Avorship of idols and accept of and
rest upon Jesus alone as her Saviour. Even more than this. I have
known of the devotes :vho had been engaged for 30 years in seeking
merit by prayers and fastings and offerings at various shrines and in
many temples, throw away the accumulated merit of 30 years of
penance and prayers to trust entirely to the perfect righteousness
of Jesus Christ, the only Saviour. I have seen the child of heathen
parents under such instructions turn away from all the idolatry of
her home and accept of Jesus as her Saviour. I have also seen the
man of mature years, who had attained literarv degrees and whose
mind had been puffed up Avith pride, renounce all pride in such
honors, and come in the spirit of a little child and bow at
the feet of Jesus as his Lord and Redeemer—Yea hath the Master
not said, “ Except ye be converted and become as little children,
ye cannot enter into the kindom of heaven?” Matt. xvm. 3. The
provision which divine mercy has made for mail’s salvation meets
the craving desire of the human heart just as water satisfies the need
of the thirsty, and bread satisfies the starving. How this change is
effected by the simple preaching of the Gospel is a matter of
wonder to the unbelieving, for as in the days of our Saviour, men still
seek after a sign. But the Gospel has no sign to give them but
the manifestation of the power of God in the transformation of men
and women, making them to be new creatures in Christ. This
enlightenment of the dark minds of the heathen and their change
of heart is the work of God’s Spirit. It is not a mere natural result
of light and knowledge dissipating the darkness of the natural
heart. For while there is light and knowledge in the Gospel the
darkness of the human heart receiveth them not, till the heart is

280 THE APOSTOLIC METHOD OF PREACHING THE GOSPEL. [July-

opened by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God uses God’s own
revealed truth as the means of the conversion of men, though that
truth is foolishness to human reason ; Christ crucified is made the
power of God to salvation to those who believe, though it is a
stumbling block to the Jew, and foolishness to the Greek who do
not believe.

There is much said and written about the want of success of
missionary labor among the heathen. If we consider only the
human instrumentality there is no just ground for complaint of
want of success. If we consider the power of God, and his mighty
grace and the fulness of his promises wo may justly lament that we
do not see more of the display of that divine grace which the
promises of God’s word warrant us to expect in connection with the
preaching of the Gospel. But a proper consideration of the subject
will lead us to the conclusion that the best way to secure this
manifestation of divine power will not be by resorting to means
devised by human wisdom in order to prepare the way for the
Gospel but it will he by returning to the Apostles method “ by
preaching Christ and him crucified” and all the doctrines of God's
word which are connected therewith, as man’s lost condition as a
sinner, his exposure to the wrath of God for his sins, the coming
judgment of all men and the blessedness of those who believe in
Jesus, at the same time looking for and expecting the Spirit to
God to make these truths the power of God to the salvation of those
who believe.

In adhering to the method pursued by tbe Apostles we may
expect the very same objections which they encountered. For
there are now in the world the very same classes of men which there
were then represented by the Jews and the Greeks. These men
will now receive it as did their prototypes then. To one class,
then represented by the Jews, it well be a stumbling block; and to
the class then represented by the Greeks it will be foolish¬
ness. But to those who believe whether Jews, Greeks or Barbarians
it will be made the power of God to Salvation. As faithful ministers
of Christ we have only one course to pursue viz to “obey our
marching orders,” and follow the example of the Apostles who
preached in season and out of season whether men would hear or
forbear. We may safely leave the result to God. Because the
foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is
stronger than men.” Hence let us determine more firmly than
ever with the Apstle Paul “not to know anything among this people
save Jesus Christ, and him crucified,” in the hope that their “faith
may not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

August.] THE PEOVERBS AND COililON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE. 281

THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE.

Br Rkv. Arthur H. Smith.

(Continued from page 205.)

fTHE possible resolutions of single characters, having apparently
no law, new forms of higher complexity had to be invented.
These are of many varieties. One of them is known as the ‘Double
Door Rule/ (Ji; j 1 *] $f). This means that the characters to be found
will be discovered only by dissecting other characters. Take, for
example, the words ££ $£ g f, ‘Among those who come and go

there is no person without official rank/ The phrase to be sought,
we are told, is from the Four Books and is to be guessed out on
the ‘ Double Door Plan’ (#f 0 ^ - ft M & £ PI # & &).
The clew lies in our former acquaintance, to wit the words icen kuan
ch'uug fp^ ^ fi|i and these characters being taken apart, yield the
following; P*J P -f 'T* T* A- ‘within the doorway each one
is in the ranks of officials/ which is equivalent to the proposition
with which we began.

Among other devices for the distillation of enigmatical dark¬
ness, are the ‘ Rolling up the Screen Rule’ |$), in which the

characters are read from the bottom to the top; the ' Duck and
Drake Rule/ ($& $£ ^r) in which one limb of a familiar couplet
having been guessed out, the solution of the riddle is found, not
in this half of the couplet but in the othev one (the two being as
intimately Associated as Duck and Drake, to wit. Husband and
Wife); and the hanging and unhanging of Bells. Immediately
upon his entrance upon his studies, the student of Chinese becomes
aware that many characters are used in different tones, with
different senses, the distinction being indicated, if at all, by little
circles at the corners of the characters as in the case of the ch'ung
Jr character in the last example, ordinarily read chUng. These
circles are enigmatically spoken of as bells; to put them on is, to
hang a bell (p? §§> to remove the circles is to unhang them
Now there is a structure known in Chinese history as
the Hung Ching Lou or Tower of Expansive Prospect.

These three characters are furnished, and from them is to be ex¬
tracted by the bell hanging process, a sentence from the Four
Books {ft ® $ — ft g $ IS & # ££ &)„ It isjmperfluous to
suggest to the Reader that the four characters W Iff from
the Doctrine of the Mean, afford the mystic clew. This Tower, as
we all know, existed in three stories. We now hang our i Bell’
upon the chung Jr character, and the sentence then reads ; ^}
there are three stories, Q.E.D,

282 THE PEOVEKBS AND COMMON SAYINGS 0* THE CHINESE. [July-

Once more, the Hsiin J® character is dealt out from which is
to be cork-screwed, according to Bell unhanging rules, the name of
an. individual in the Tso Chnan, or commentary on the Ch'un ChHn

The two words of the

key (in the discovery of which we are doubtless anticipated by the
Header) are of course *§§ Po Yueh. The Ilsiln is an anomalous
sort of musical instrument said to have been made of porcelain, and
shaped like an egg, with six or seven holes, blown through tho
apex, and producing a whistling sound. Now the prerogative oE
piping upon this perforated porcelain egg was limited by statute to
elder brothers, while younger brothers were obliged to put up with
blowing the Ck [ ih (jf%) which—if the composition of the character
is any guide-—-was formed of bamboo, and made a noise like a tiger.
Every one will immediately recall the passage in the Books of Odes
which says; ( Brothers are called Po and Chung; the elder is Po,
and the musical instrument which he plays, is called the IPiin; the
younger is named Chung, and he plays upon the Ck'ih.' (ff %
M R 5ft « W & 5fC ^} 0 This division of musical labor naturally
and appropriately led to the use of the Hiun and ChHh characters,
in the sense of elder and younger brothers, (' blowing music’
being presumptively the chief employment of brothers). The [/sun,
character, iff with which we began, is now resolved into Po Yueh,
(6 Til *- e ‘ elder brother’s musical instrument. But by the terms of
mm inquiry, we were to take off the bell. This done, Po Yiieh fg ^
is changed into Po lao Now by reading carefully through

the entire Tso Chnan, it is ascertained that there is no Po Lao ((}
there to be found, there is a Po Lao and this character is

therefore the one of which we are in search. It is not, perhaps, to
be wondered at that a nation upon which has devolved the task of
constructing and resolving riddles of this sort, should have had less
leisure than could have been wished for original thinking—not to
speak of investigations in Natural Science-

It is an example of Chinese fondness for involved modes of
expression adapted to the eye, as well as to the ear, that they have
books—in some cases amounting to volumes of considerable size—
called IVang 2"ou Shift, jjljf f£) in which the object is to weave
together verses, at the same time concealing the point of departure
(ts'ang t K oa BIO- What is apparent is a mere jumble of mis¬
cellaneous characters, but to him who holds the key they afford
whole pages of poetry. The puzzles are cast not only into the
shapes of certain characters—as, for example that for mountain (|]j)
and many others—but also into the forms of the Eight Diagrams
(without which nothing can get on in China), of squares, circles,

August.] THE FIIOVERBS'AND COMMON 9ATINQS OF THE CHINESE. 283

double circles, ellipses, and divers other geometrical figures as
well as into that of Chinese ornaments and sundry styles of fans.*
Many of these puzzles are said to have been ‘woven’ by educated
Chinese ladies—for whose intellectual activity there was presump¬
tively no better employment, and would suffice to confound the
combined sagacity of Oedipus and the Sphinx though these indivi¬
duals were initiated into the mystery of Chinese characters. Some
of them may be read in a great variety of ways, each character
in* a line being in turn assumed as the initial one, while others
are equally rythmical and poetical if once the hidden clew is
discovered, whether scanned up and down, from side to side, or
diagonally. A very slight inspection makes it evident that puzzles of
this sort immeasurably surpass anything that can be accomplished
in English by the Rebus, Acrostic, Anagram, Square word puzzles,
&c. &c., or in any other way whatsoever.t In the item of Linguistic
Labyrinths the Chinese would probably have carried off the
principal Gold Medal at the Tower of Babel, or at auy other
Intel-national Exposition since.

* In the Chinese Repository (vol. IX. p. 50S) is a translation of a supposed complaint
made by a cow of her sad lot in being obliged to work hard and fare poorly
during life, and thcu be cut up and eaten when dead. The ballad is arranged
in the form of the animal itself, and a herd-boy leading her, who in his own form
praises the happiness of a rural life. This ballad is a Buddhist tract, and that
fraternity print many such on broad-sheets; one common collection of prayers
is arranged like a pagoda, with images of Buddha sitting in the windows of each
story. William’s Middle Kingdom, Vol. I. Ch. XII.

It is no doubt possible to arrange Latin letters in combinations extremely tauto¬
logical and perplexing, as the* Puzzle Department of any well edited journal for
Young People will show. In the appended Example, which is reputed to be
almost or quite Seventy years old, it is affirmed that the sentence contained
may be read in more than two thousand different ways. Its inferiority, however,
to on ordinary Chinese Character Puzzle, is sufficiently obvion3 :

e

o v e
e v i v e
O v i live
evil Alive
ovil&t&live
evil&tntAMve
ovilitnent&livo
evil&tnepont&live
evil&tnepepent&livc
o v i l&tnepeRepent&l i vo
evil&tnepopontA I i ve
e v i l&tnepent&l ivo
evi l&tnenl&live
ev i 1 <fc t n t A l ivo
evil&t&liv©

© v i 1 & 1 i v e
evi 1 i v e
e v i v e
eve
e

28-i

TEE TROVkSBS AND COMMON 3AYING3-0F TEE CHINESE. [July -

An. adequate idea of a Chinese Character Puzzle of this sort is
only to be gained by actual inspection. In order to facilitate this
object, one of them is reproduced in the following cut. It is called
The Universe in a Wine Pitcher, and consists of more than an
hundred characters, disposed so as to represent a Pitcher, with
cover, handle and spout. The only guide to reading it aright
is conveyed in the anouncement that the text is to be arranged
in lines of seven characters each (-t =| |f); and that the point of
departure is from the words Chiu shihjen chien kH (jg £ A FhJ j§J) 0
Each of these items of information, however, turns out to be inaccu¬
rate, for upon a more minute examination (and by the aid of a dim
sort of key, fj[ ££), we ascertain that the lid of the pot is a verse by
itself, in the five character meter, (jfr gf |f), entirely disconnected
from the remaining stanzas. The seven character lines, twelve in
number, contain a representation of the mischiefs caused by wine.
They begin with general statements, which are supported by parti¬
cular historical examples and conclude by retnrni ng to generalities.
The whole device is almost exactly analagous to the temperance
legend often printed in the shape of a decanter beginning:—

“ There was a.n old decanter,

And its mouth waa gaping wide.

The ruby wine had ebbed away,

And left its crystal side.”

285

August.] THE PEOVE&BS AND COMMON SAYINGS OP THE CHINESE.

In order to read the verae which is concealed in the lid, it is
necessary first to dissect the character at the top, [tuan which is
made to do quadruple duty. In the first line, s/ian [lj is the initial
character, the other four being found in the upper half of the cover,
beginning at the middle, and read from left to right. In the second
line, er/i ffij is the starting point, but it is exchanged for another
character of the same sound, fjE, the remaining characters of the line
being in the half of the cover opposite the last, and read from right
to left. In the next line li i£ is the first word, the others
being found in tbe right half of the lower edge of the lid beginning
from the outside and reading toward the center. In the last line,
the entire character tuan stands first, the remainder are opposite
the last, but beginning at the outer angle are read from left to
right. The five character verse, as a whole is then as follows:

tn & *f a a.

a » is ® i.

a s s 11 .

a « » tin.

‘The mountains high, the fields well planted too,

Then virtuous sons and grandsons come to view;

Within the pitcher whioh contains the wine,

Axe fairies hid, and spirits all divine.’

The remaining verses begin at the outer extremity of the spout.

and are as follows:—

[Left side of Pitcher, top.]
[Right side, top.]

[Left side, middle.]
[Right side, middle.]
[Left side, near spout.]
[Right side, at handle.]
[Left side, bottom.]
[Right side, bottom.]

a a a ® * b

A A(6 [Upper end of handle] TlS ft 85

13ESa,SE«.
liESill t,

A SB n a H m [Center Line] ft,
m 6 @ a g * [Center] ft.
tt is S a X % [Center]
ft W Sf Sfi H [Center] flj,

S 2 n a * n [Center]

® t @ a m * [Center]

[Center] ft,

[Center] Jg,

* Wine is the magic potion which sill’s to valorous deeds.

But he who takes it needB must bear the ill to which it leads;

Thns Han TPaug’s loyal ministers were lost because of wine,

Through wine the Princess Yang was slain along the battle’s line;

Six Brothers at the Stm Kuan, tbrongh wine were overthrown,
Through wine came Li Pa’s banishment afar to parts unknown.

To dungeon wine brought Tu K'ang bo too by wine’s intrigue
Was Hsu Chou lost by Chang Fei, which broke the Brother’s League;
By wine have Princes’ bouse and state to ruin oft been brought,

And high Officials lofty fame, through wine lias come to nought,
Through wine fraternal concord, will turn to mutual hate,

And curses on the parent’s beads, their children imprecate,’

286

THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE. [July-

Beside the Ts'ang T l ou Shi/i, or Verses with, the Hidden Head,
there are many other varieties of Chinese Cryptogram. In the
Analytical Cryptogram, for example, the explanation depends upon
resolving certain characters, an oblique description of which is
given, into their constituent parts i£).

Of this style of composition the following verses are an
example:—

« m 0 a *.

7i z ss * x.

m m = +

m « £ m *.

* By precious wood the realm was brought to waste,

And drops of water near the work were placed;

Sword-bearing soldiers thirty six by count,

The spot they siezed was eastward of the mount ?

The first two of these lines are quite innocent of any meaning
in themselves, but each gives a hint of a character which is to be
guessed from them. Pao Mu (Jgf /fc) is intended to suggest the
Sung character, which is composed of a cover, and mu
wood. The former character is exchanged for because it is

usually called the pao kai J|), since it forms a covering for the
precious contents of the pao character. In the second line, the
words tien shui hung (3$ ft X)> indicate that water is to be placed
before the kung (X) character. Thus constituting it Chiang ££. This
gives Sung Chiang j£), the leader of the land of robbei’3 in the
Liany Shan Po [Jj Jg) to whom reference has been already made.

The Wind, Flowers, Snow and Moonlight, JU,, JJ,

in a multitude of Chinese expressions, are familiar emblems of the
insubstantial, and the evanescent.* In the following verse each of
these characters is darkly described, as where the outer strokes of
the character for Phoenix are called the 'Nest’ of the ‘ Bird/
which flying away, leaves.space for the Insect thus forming the
character for Wind, The other characters, are dissected, with¬
out alteration.

& a s. si m * ft.

-tAiUSt?.

•k Bf T & fit tU ±.
ftlSI'ST, __

4 The Insect enters the Phoenix nest—the Bird from thonce lias flown; MUL
Seven Mortals fixed till on their heads the dark green gross hits grown, *

A copious Rain is falling there where a Mountain stands on end; ^

But the strangest sight of all is this, to eeo only half of a Friend!’

* As, for example, in the common sayings; 'The bright Moon in the water—Flowers
in a mirror,’ (* + w n m * ‘ How long will tho Flower retain

(?e satewa a a).

August ] THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAYINGS OF THE CHINESE. 287

It is related of the Emperor Chh’en Lung that, when on ono
of the pilgrimages in which he much delighted, he stopped for
refreshment at a temple in Cbiang-Nan. Here there was a literary
graduate of the second grade (Chii Jen) teaching a school, who
proved to be such a sensible person that the Emperor was pleased,
and wrote a Tablet (H) for the temple, as follows: jg ~
which to the uninitiated might seem to denote ‘Two Insects/
Nothing, however, could be farther from the intention of His
Majesty than tins. What he really meant (as the intelligent Reader
has already divined) was a reference to the Empire, which in his
time was greater than ever before, and was to the Imperial eye
boundless, like the rauge of the Wind, or the effulgence of the Moon.
This postulate once granted, it was easy, by a common figure
of speech, to represent the Imperial domain by the terms Wind and
Moon, and hence when the vastness of the Empire was hinted at to
call in brief; ‘ The Wind and the Moon—no boundaries ’ J§if IS

This, we repeat, was His Majesty’s meaning—but instead of
saying so, as an inferior order of mind would have done, he simply
gives the kernel, and rejects the husk—to wit the Insect (jJj)
character, to intimate that this is the Wind ($1) character ‘ without
boundaries? and the character signifying two (H) to suggest the
Moon (^), also ‘without boundaries/ Yet however plain a state¬
ment may be, it is always possible for the ‘unlearned and unstable’
to ‘wrest’ it. So in this case we are not much surprised to learn
that although when the Emperor wrote ‘ Two Insects’ plainly mean¬
ing ‘A boundless Empire/ a school of literal interpreters arise who
insist upon sticking by the text, which said ‘Two Insects’ that is, as
they explained, Two Serpents, a Black one, ^ and a White one,
f3 fa in the existence of which and in their endowment with
supernatural powers for evil, millions of Chinese are said to have a
deeply rooted faith—a faith that is to say rooted deeply in the two
characters jg ZZ, traced by the hand of an Emperor !

Another variety of Chinese Cryptogram, may be described as
the Exrrjetical , where the lines given do not contain the Characters
sought, nor their component roots, bub merely describe them, as in
the following verse.

4S«3

isftt i>i m n.

^ if £ « ft to it.

3Sfi ill h#? *.

The explanation is to be found in a familiar phrase of four
characters. C/din, C/di, Shu, Hm, •§}, #t, i.c. Lutes, Chess,

Books,. Drawings as in the following translation :—•

288

THE PROVERBS AND COMMON SAVINGS OP THE CHINESE. [July-

‘ Upon the Wu T'ung’e famous wood are silken conla stretched tight;

Two kingdoms wag© a mutual strife, yet use uo swords to fight;

A thousand years of history to him ar8 clearly known ;

Ten thousand miles of hills aud streams his skillful haud has Bhown.’

In another form of cryptographic notation, the meaning is
conveyed by an Acrostic. In this way the following verse conceals
the name of Lu Chun I the rebel, JS who was associated

with Sung Chiang, previously mentioned.

& * t Hi; m .

KtillEl.

1 Amid the reeds aud rushes, there lies a little boat,

From hence come all the brave men, the famous men of note;

The Officer of government, the sword he bears is just,

He turns himself, the traitor’s heads are rolling in the dust.'

It is said that Ran Shift Chung [f| fa see Mayer’s Manual
No. 154, a.] who pursued the Tartar chief Chin Wu Chu 7t jfc)
lost him in the recesses of the Western Lake, (]§ $B). The hiding
place was such an unlikely one for the concealment of so powerful
a foe, that the Sung Emperor’s soldiers quite overlooked it.
A Buddhist priest who was consulted on the subject, unwilling to
commit himself by giving direct information, enounced the following
lines which, through the initial characters of each line, intimated
that he who sought the hidden enemy should to the 1 Old Dragon’
Den Go,’ (3a II SS

ig $ * 8 S A «.
flt 9 ft IS fi 3S«.

% * I B & S fir.

‘ The Old commander, full of years his numerous soldiers leadB;

Tho Dragon* wars, the Tigers fight, and show their martial deeds;

The Den of bandits, all obey the general's high behest,

Then Go with horse, disperse tlia Thieves, aud put the land at rest.’

• The “Dragon" is tho Euiperor, and the Tigers arc his Generals.

(To be continued.)

August.] FILIAL filETY AMONG THE CHINESE, ETC.

289

FILIAL PIETY AMONG THE CHINESE, ITS CHARACTER

AND INFLUENCE.
By E. C. Lord, D.D.

before the Ningpo Missionary .4$SOciaC«Oti, 3nt, 1883.)

E duty of children to love, revere, and obey their parents, is one

that has been taught through all time, and among all peoples.
Founded in nature it has been recognized in all philosophies, and
inculcated in all religions. But among no people, perhaps, lias it
occupied a place of so much importance as among the Chinese.
With them it is the one great virtue, the foundation of all excellence,
and all greatness. Their sages are illustrious examples of this
virtue, and it was this virtue that had much, if not the most, to
do in making them sages.

We mean, by filial piety the natural regard that children have
for their parents which manifests itself in love, veneration, and
obedience; and especially when this regard is enlightened, strength¬
ened, and refined by moral and religious culture. With us, too,
this is an important virtue—a virtue, which if we might personify,
we should call one of God's good angels, and one of the sweetest
and most beneficent, sent to minister to ns in our earthly cares.

But we are to speak of filial piety, not as we regard it, but as
the Chinese regard it; and not as it.is found among us, but as it is
found among them. The two may not he the same. Indeed, I fear
they will be found to differ, and to differ a good deal.

We have all, no doubt, given attention to this virtue as it has
appeared in the life around us; and this will help us somewhat in
our estimate of its character and influence. But we must look fur¬
ther than this. We must examine it, not only as we see it exhibited
in the life of the people around us, but also as we find it portrayed
in their histories, their laws, their literature, their ethics, their bal¬
lads, and their proverbs. These are all necessary in order to bring
it fully and fairly before us, not only as it has been in the past, but
also as it is at present, beyond the very narrow limits of personal
observation. I shall, therefore, beg permission to refer somewhat,
though I hope nob tediously, to some of the more important of these
sources. And my object in doing so will be to let the Chinese tell
us themselves what they mean by filial piety, what weight they
attach to this virtue, and what influence they suppose it has had on
their social and national condition.

In the Hiao Ring, or Book of Filial Duty, made up of discourses
addressed by Confucius to bis disciple Tsang-tsze, wc have the sage's
view, and of course the orthodox view, of this virtue. The text of
this book consists of only eighteen short sections; and a translation

290

FILIAL PIETY AMONG THE CHINESE.,

{July-

of them may be found in one of the early volumes of the Chinese
depository, made, I believe, by the Rev. Dr. Bridgeman. From
this I will make two or three, not very lengthy, quotations.

The first is on the

“origin and nature of filial duty.”

“Confucius sitting at leisure, with his pupil Tsang-Uze by his -
side, said to him, ‘ Do you understand how the ancient kings, who
possessed the greatest virtue and the best moral principles, rendered
the whole empire so obedient, that the people lived in peace and
harmony, and no ill mil existed between superiors and inferiors*?
Tsang-tze, rising from his seat, replied, ‘ Destitute as I am of
discernment, how can I understand the subject’? ‘ Filial duty,’
said the sage, ‘is the root of virtue, and the stem from which
instruction in moral principles spring forth. Sit down and I will
explain this to you. The first thing which filial duty requires of us
is, that we carefully preserve from all injury, and in a perfect state,
the bodies which we have received from our parents. And when
we acquire for ourselves a station in the world, we should regulate
our conduct by correct principles, so as to transmit our names to
future generations, and reflect glory on our parents: this is the
ultimate aim of filial duty. Thus it commences in attention to
parents; is continued through a course of services rendered to the
prince; and is completed by the elevation of ourselves.’ It is said
in the Book of Odes :

“ Think always of your ancestors;

Talk of and imitate their virtues.”

Our next quotation speaks of

“ FILIAL DUTY AS PRACTICED BY THE SON OF HEAVEN.”

“ The sage said, f If he loves his parents, he cannot hate other
people ; and if he respects his parents, he cannot treat others with
neglect. When, therefore, his love and respect towards his parents
are perfect, the virtuous instructions will extend to the people, and
all within the four seas will imitate his virtuous example. Such is
the influence of filial duty when practiced by the Son of Heaven.”
In the Book of Records it is said :—

“ When the one man is virtuous,

The millions will rely upon him.”

My next quotation is

“ ON THE PRACTICE OF FILIAL DUTY BY THE PEOPLE.”

u To observe the revolving seasons, to distinguish the diversities
of soil, to be careful of their persons, and to practice economy in
order that they may support their parents, is what filial duty
requires of the people.”

August.] ITS CHARACTER AND INFLUENCE. 291

“Therefore, from the Son of Heaven down to the common
people, whoever does not always conform entirely to tho require¬
ments of filial duty, will, surely be overtaken by calamity; there
can be no exception.”

In another section we read: “ concerning the virtues of the
sages, said Tsang-tsse, may I presume to ask whether there is any
one greater than filial duty ? Confucius replied, of all things which
derive their nature from heaven and earth, man is the most noble:
and of all the duties which are incumbent on him, there is none
greater than filial obedience: nor in performing this, is there any¬
thing so essential as to reverence the father; and as a mark of
reverence, there is nothing more important than to place him on
an equality with heaven. Thus did the noble lord of Chow.
Formerly, he sacrificed on the round altar to the spirits of his
remote ancestors, as equal with Heaven; and in the open hall he
sacrificed to Wan Wang, as equal with the Supreme Ruler.”

There is much more of interest in these discourses on filial duty;
but I must now ask your attention to a few of the more familiar
utterences on this subject found in the Four Books.

In the Doctrine of the Mean, Confucius said: (I shall quote
from Dr. Legge’s translation) “ How greatly filial was Shun ! His
virtue was tliat of a sage; his dignity was tho imperial throne; his
riches were all within the four seas. He offered his sacrifices in
his ancestral temple, and his descendants preserved the sacrifices
to himself.”

In the language here used Confucius, no doubt, meant to teach,
that the goodness, the greatness, and the happiness of this illustrious
ruler, were the outcome of his filial piety. And what was true of
him he held to be true of others, and of all. Everywhere, and at all
times, this virtue is the root of all excellence, and the source of all
success. And this doctrine of the Chinese classics is the accepted
doctrine of the Chinese people. It is taught in all their books, it is
taught in all their schools, and it is taught in all their families.

In another place, Confucius having exclaimed: “How far-
extending was the filial piety of king Woo and the duke of Chow ! ”
goes on to speak of its manifestations. He says: “ Now filial piety
is seen in the skilful carrying out of the wishes of oar fore-fathers,
and the skilful carrying forward of their undertakings.” The same
subject come3 up, where it is presented more in detail, in a passage
of Mencius. One of the philosopher’s disciples said to him:

“ Throughout the whole kingdom every body pronounces Ktoang
Chang unfilial. But you, Master, keep company with him, and
moreover treat him with politeness. I venture to ask why you do so ?

292

FILIAL PIETY AilONG THE CHINESE,

[July-

“ Mencius replied, 1 Tliere are five tilings Avhicli are said in the
common practice of the age to be unfilial. The first is laziness in
the use of one’s four limbs, without attending to the nourishment of
his parents. The second is gambling and chess-playing, and being
foud of wine, without attending to the nourishment of his parents.
The third is being foud of goods and mone} 7 , and selfishly attached
to his wife and children, without attending to the nourishment of
his parents. The fourth is following the desires of one’s ears and
eyes, so as to bring his pavonts to disgrace. The fifth is being fond
of bravery, fighting and quarrelling so as to endanger his parents.
Is Chang guilty of any of these things ? ”

Mencius’ question implies that the charge made against this
person of unfilial conduct, was ungrounded. He there admits that
there had arisen a disagreement betwixt this person and his father,
resulting from a well meant, though unfortunate, reproof, the son
urging his father to what was good. He then mentions the presumed
circumstance that led to the difficulty, and seems to commend the
conduct of the son in it. He says:

“ Moreover, did not Chang wish to have in hk family tlie
relationships of husband and wife, child and mother ? But because
he had offended his father, and was nob permitted to approach him,
he sent away his wife, and drove forth his son, and all his life
receives no cherishing attention from them. He settled it in his
mind that if he did not act in this way, his would be one of the
greatest of crimes.”

Again, filial piety, with the Chinese, as with us, is known by
its fruits. The form of these differs considerably in the two cases.
But in both cases it is held that the form, the service, whatever it
be, must come from the heart. Love and reverence must anoint and
consecrate it. I will quote a single passage from the Analects,
which brings out quite strikingly this important point, Tsze Yew
asked rvliat filial piety was. The Master said, “The filial piety of
now-a-days means the support of one’s parents. But dogs and horses
likewise are able t-o do something in the way of support; without
reverence what is there to distinguish the one support from
the other f ”

The appropriateness of the illustration here used might perhaps
be questioned. But the sage’s meaning is entirely clear. He means
that conduct to be filial, must be sincere and heart-felt.

There are other characteristics, attributed to filial piety, of a
more questionable kind. For instance, the filial son must cleave to
his parents rather than to his wife and children. Indeed, he must
submit to and obey them, even though it require him to sacrifice his

August.] IT3 CHARACTER AND INFLUENCE. 293

own rights, and the dearer rights .of those of whom 'ho is the
natural guardian. This appears not only from the passage just now
quoted, where'the conduct of a son is commended, who, in order to
conciliate an angry father, sent away his wife, and drove away his
son, and lived uucherished and unsolaced in his dreary solitude, but
from teachings everywhere met with ou this subject.

Another questionable characteristic, attributed to filial piety, is
that it is unfilial to be without posterity. " Meucius said, ( There
are three things which are unfilial, and to have no posterity is the
greatest of them.’ ” The desire of the Chinese for male children is,
of course, a matter Avell knowu to all who live in. the country, and
mingle with the people. No doubt this desire springs in part from
the natural love of offspring, common to the human race. But much
of it, and especially the peculiar form which it takes, is traceable to
the idea here involved that breaks in the family line are great
calamities; and so the conduct that results, or tends to result, in
these breaks, is in its nature unfilial. And this is the point of
Mencius’ remark. Bnt it is these breaks themselves, or the
calamities supposed to result from them, rather than the conduct
leading to them, that mostly occupy the thoughts, and influence
the conduct, of the common people. The idea of Mencius is of
course a fiction. And the whole fabric that he and others have

built upon it, is a fiction. A fiction? Yes; but a tremendous

one! gigantic in size, hoary with age, and mighty in strength.
We descant much on the power of truth, and the weakness of
error when brought into conflict. Yet here is an idea, utterly
unfounded, that has lived, and defied whatever truth may have

assailed it for more than four thousand years; and is still the

life of a system of beliefs and rites, equally baseless, equally
false, yet of magnitude so enormous, and of power so great, that
millions and hundreds of millions fall before it, and are crushed
beneath it; while the ministers of truth and light, armed with tiro
panoply and power of G-od, are standing amazed and weak, if not
helpless, before it.

I will mention only one more false notion, which I think is
embraced in the Chinese estimate of filial piety. Ic is that conduct,
ordinarily wrong, becomes right when the motive is to shield a
parent from punishment when committing crime. We read in the
Analects that “The date of Yih informed Confucius, saying,
among us here there are those who may be styled upright in their
conduct. If their fathers have stolen a sheep, they will bear witness
to the fact.”

294

FILIAL PIETY A1I0HG THE CHINESE,

[July-

“ Confucius said, ‘Among us in our part of the country, those
who are upright are different from this. The father conceals the
misconduct of the son, and the son conceals the misconduct of the
father. Uprightness is found in this/ ”

Confucius, it is true, is not ostensibly discussing the subject of
filial piety in this place. Still as he states what a person, from the
circumstance of his being a son, ought to do in the case mentioned,
it amounts to the same thing. And the doctrine of Confucius
here is no doubt the doctrine of the Chinese people. Nature doe3,
indeed, incline the parent to shield the child, and the child to
shield the parent. And to do this when it may be done without
injury to others, is often, if not always, right. But it is difficult
to see how this could be applied to the commission of public
crimes.

The comments on this passage are interesting, and in point, as
indicating the sentiment prevailing among the Chinese on this
subject. Choo Foo-lsze says, That father and son should conceal
each the other’s misdeeds [and he means their crimes as well] is in
accordance with the law of heaven, and the nature of man. And
such acts are necessarily right.” He then quotes another authority,
which says, “ To follow the law of heaven is to do right. But if
the father were not to conceal the misdeeds of the father, or
the son were not to conceal the misdeeds of the father, would
that be to follow the law of heaven ? Koo Sow killed a person.
Shun [his son] stealthily bore the body away, and placed it by the
sea. The love he bore to his father led him to do this. As to
whether he did right or not, why waste time to inquire?”

Thus far we have looked at this virtue, so boasted of among
this people, as we find it presented iu their ancient writings. Has
their view of it siuce undergone any essential change ? I think not.
Nevertheless, it may be well to look at it for a moment, as it
has been presented in later times, and as it is received and taught
in schools and families of the present day. And in trying to
present this view, perhaps I canuot do better than to give a couple
of short ballads, printed and circulated among the people, as wo
print and circulate religious tracts. Though written in poetic
lines, they have no poetic interest, at iea3t none to U9. They
are simply valuable as mirrors of Chinese customs, and Chinese
thought.

The first is called a Ballad by Wang Chung Shoo, exhorting to
Filial Duty. The whole of it is given, with a few brief notes,
explaining what otherwise might to some be obscure.

August.]

IT3 CHARACTER AND INFLUENCE.

295

Of duties all the first is filial love; •

Tki9 in the Odes * and Records +■ much is seen.

The rich in high, the poor in low estate,

May all puiuse this greatest of all good.

But where this filial love is overlooked,

There how shall one distinguish man from beast?

I now propose, in rustic phrase, to speak,

And faithfully this subject briug to yon.

Now man, while yet his bones are incomplete.

Ten months $ his mother carries in her womb.

When thirsty, of his mother’s blood he driuks;

When hungry, of his mother’s flesh be eats.

Then when his time of birth approaches near,

What anxious care his mother must endure,

Tearing, lest in that dreaded hour, her life
Will prove to be a candle in the wind.

But when she looks upon her infant’s face,

New life, and added joy, succeed her woe.

She now with loving labor teuds her rare ;

Nov day nor night relaxes from her toil.

At night she lies upon a wretched mat;

But baby, he must have a warm dry bed.

And while in sleep her baby quiet lips,

The mother, lest she wake him, fears to stir.

Her child’s unpleasant wants disturb her not;

Its illnesses she fain herself would bear.

Her hair is left undressed, her cap awry,

Tor time she has none now for toilet cares.

Then when her child begins its early walk,

At every step she fears lest it should fall.

If able either drink or food to take,

These to prepare she goes herself unfed.

Three years her child she nurses at her 131*6086,

Expending sweat and blood in vast amount.

Nor do her cam and toil a respite find,

Till years fifteen or sixteen are attained,

The time when dispositions stronger grow,

And acts become more difficult to rule.

Clothing and food the father’s care provides,

Aud careful training as to conduct right,

Intending when his son becomes a man,

To place him with instructors wise and good.

If bright, the father fears he’ll overdo;

If dull, he fears his labor will be lost.

• Oder. Tlio She King, or Book of Odes, mauy parts of which treat of filial duty,
f Records: The .Shoo Tin?, or Historical Classic. Hero too as almost ovory whore in
Chinese writings, filial duty is prominent
J Tan months. This, in Chinese phrase, is the period of mau’s gestation.

+4

296

FILIAL PIETY AMONG THE CHINESE,

[July*

Jf faults be have, his father them conceals;
If virtues, be is first to make them known.
The son gone out from home, till lie return
Hi$ father watches for him at the door;

And if lus journey bo for miles but ten,

A thousand to the parent’s heart it seeuos.

The sou must many when to manhood grown ;
And so a worthy bride is sought with care.

On go-betweens much money must be spent;

And costly presents, these too must be made.

The day arrives,—the bride comes home to dwell;
Then filial love continues strong no mote.

Faces of parents now appear as dirt;

While those of wife and children pearl appear.

The mother’s blouse and skirt are coarse and worn,
The wife’s are new, and made of silken gauze.

If.either parent should be left alone.

Alone that parent lives, to please the sod.

The father worries lest the mother come
To treatment harsh, and dreary solitude.

The mother grieving at her son's distress,

Swears* in her heart, and chants the Yellow Swanf
Grown up, the son forgets his parents' care,

And to his children gives the best lie haa.

If well, his parents get a meal of lice;

If ill, a meal of gruel then they have.

The clothes they have to wear are thin and cold ;
The blankets covering them have lost their warmth.

At last death comes. Then children disagree,

And wrangle for the property that’s left.

They think not with what toil and care t’was gained ;
They only murmur of injustice done.

In sack-cloth they perform the burial rites,

And without heart pretend excessive grief.

The sacrifices too are empty rites ;

And when will settled be the grave's fun g-shut ? +

* Swears in her heart. Makes solemn resolve that she will never marry again.

■f The Yellow Swan. The name of a kiud of lament, in which the widow chants, or
wails, her determination to live singlo till she dies.

Fimg-shai. Places for graves are sought where the geoman eers find that the
■Pitny-jJiwt—influences—will be favorable to the peace of tho dead, and the pros¬
perity of the family. Hut delays often attend tho finding and securing of such
places. And where filial love is wanting these delays aro still more likely to
occur. Hence the poet's inquiry.

August.]

ITS CHARACTER AND INFLUENCE.

297

You who are sons I earnestly entreat,

To study well the book of Filial love.

Wang Tseang : * * * § He lay upon the hard cold ice,
Mang Tsung : f He wept beside the dead bamboos.
Tbae Shun + while picking berries from the tree,
The robbers found, and gave his mother rice.

Yang Heartg || in peril saved his father’s life;

The tiger fled, nor dared to do him. harm.

Keang Kell § delightedly wont out to serve.

Ping Chang Tf did not refuse to sell himself.

Pah Yu ** bewailed his parent's powerless blows.
Wang Pow ff wept when he read the Nyo-liao.
Sons filial many were in former times,

Of whom to mention all my task would fail.
Among all men this common rule is found,

That heaven endows them with a nature good.

How comes it thou that men of present times,

No longer learn the virtues of the past ?

Why do they not consider their own solves,—
Their bodies, who was it that reared them up ?
Why do they not consider their own selves,—
Their minds, and who to them instruction gave ?
Why do they not consider their own selves,—
Their homes, and who provided these for them ?

The filial bird in turn its parent feeds ;

The lamb kneels humbty for ite mother’s breast:

The man, undutiful to parents, is

With bird or. beast unfit to be compared.

• Wang Tseang. Here follow eomo noted examples of this filial love. Iu tho
winter Wang Tseang’s mother longed for fish to eat. The son iu order to
procure it went and lay on the ice of tho fish pond or rivor; and his filial con¬
duct was rewarded by the ice opening, and fi3h jampiug out to him.

t Afanj Tswig, " His mother was very ill; and one winter’s day sho longed to
taste a soup made of bamboo sprouts, but 3Iaug could not procure any. At
last he went into the grove of bamboo j clasped the trees with hia hands, and
wept bitterly. His filial affection moved nature, and tho ground slowly opened,
sending forth several shoots, which ho gathered and carried home.”
t Thae Shun. This person’s family was very poor; oud the country being overrun
with robbers, the mother was in danger of starving. Tho son in order to keep
her alive, wont to gather berries from the mulberry trees. While thus employed
the robbers came upon him ; but on discovering his filial conduct, they not only
did him no harm, but rewarded him by giving him rice for his mother.

[| Y an g Heang. Tin's person was with his father cutting fuel on tho lulls. A tigor
suddenly cam© upon them, and seized his father. Ho sprang to his fathor’a
rescue; and the tiger fled, in recognition of his filial couduct.

§ Keang Keh. This persons family was very poor; aud iu order to procure food
to keep his parents alive, he willingly went out to serve.

^ pinj CJiwtj in order to get food for his parents, sold himsolf to be a slave.

•• Tah Yu, When bis parents grew old, perceived that when they beat him with
their staves ho felt less pain than formerly. Uy this he was reminded that
their strength was failing, aud that they soon must die; aud being reminded
of this he could not refain from weeping.

•ft Jfyo-hao, the name of a filial ode, or an ode in which a filial son mourns for hia
parents. Waug Pow was so imbued with filial love that he could never read
this odo without weeping.

298

FILIAL PIETY AHQNQ THE CHINESE,

[July-

The filial bamboo braves the cold and heat;
The king of tree3 in reverence bows its limb :
The maD, undutiful to parents, is
With grass or trees unfit to compared.

Ne’er seek to cover an nnfilial bead

With dwellings, that are used to shelter men;

Nor an nnfilial body seek to clothe

With garments, snch a3 men are wont to wear ;

Nor yet a mouth nnfilial, let it eat
The food that satisfies the wants of men.

For Heaven and Earth, though they are broad and high,

Would find it hard to suffer such ingrates.

This song of mine, exhorting filial love,

Do not dislike because it earnest seems.

If, hearing, you give earnest heed thereto,

Then even a hundred years woald seem too short.

Moreover, you may children have yourselves;

Then soon what you have done will be repaid.

You to your sons a pattern filial give,

They soon to you will make a full return.

•

The second ballad is composed of eight stanzas, of eight lines
each. The first four fines of each stanza are of equal length,
having five characters each. The fifth line of each stanza has six
characters; and the remaining three have each seven. The transla¬
tion aims to imitate this measure.

Our children chide us in reproachful words,

And in our hearts we rather feel delight;

But if our parents ever chiding speak, -
Then quick wb feel onr indignation rise.

Towards them we feel delight, toward these our anger burns :

Why show we this distinction in regard to sons and sire ?

Permit me now to urge that when your parents angered are,
Forbearingly you treat them, as you do your children treat.

Your children, they will prattle all day long,

And listening to them you will never tiro ;

But when your parents undertake to speak.

You say they have too many needless cares ;

But ’tis not thus—their cares they cannot lay aside.

Yonr parents, now grown old and grey, have bad experience much;
Then let me urge that you in reverence hear the words they speak ;
Nor let the mouth, which once they fed, be used in strife .with them.

Yonr children oft unpleasant cares require,

You render them, and that without dislike;

But when your parents’ tears or spittle fall.

You turn away with feelings of disgust.

Augnst.] ITfl CHARACTER AND INFLUENCE. 299

Tour body, six feet high, say whence was it derived ?

Was it not from your father’s strength, and from your mother’s blood?
Then let me urge, that you with reverence treat them in old age,
Because, when you were young, they spent their lives for you.

At early dawn you to the market go T
To purchase bread and cakes for children’s use;

But care for parents, naught is heard of this.

With prattle much you tend your little ones:

Parents most hungry wait, while children first you feed;

Though childrens’ love is not with parents’ love to be compared.
Then let me urge you, freely money spare for bread and cakes,

To feed your aged parents, for their days of life are few.

Then in the market you will purchase drugs,

Tet only such as give to children strength;

For parents, though their vigor fails throngh age,

No drug is sought their vigor to restore.

Tour children may be ill, your parents too are ill,

But them to cure, with curing these, is not to be compared.

Keh Koo* returned the flesh, which from his parents ho received.
Then diligently seek to lengthen out your parents' days.

The rich could well their parents’ wants supply,

And yet their parents ill at rest are found.

The poor to care for children find it hard,

Tet children hunger not, nor suffer cold.

The heai't of man is one, its ways alas are two!

A son in no way can a father be to ns.

Then always treat your parents, as you do your children treat,

In nothing ever make excuse, on plea of little means.

Supporting parents, though they arc but two,

Tet sons are ever in contention found.

Supporting children, they though ten or more,

And all the burden comes on you alone,

Tet they are full and warm. Parents must wait and ask,

For what they need there is no one who ever cares or thinks.

Then let me urge that you with care supply your parents’ wants,
Because in former time what they now need you forced from them.

Your parents’ love for you is very great,

Yet this you little ever bear in mind;

But if your child filial the least should he,

His virtue you would praise to all around.

Tour parents’ good you Lido, your childrens you display.

Who understands the care that parents for their children have .
Beware, trust not without good ground, your childrens filial love;
The pattern they will follow is the one they find in you.

* Kch Koo is said to lmve been a filial sou, who, to save his parents from death when
ill, cut off the flesh of his arm to make for them tho needed remedy. In doing
this ho only restored to his parents what he had received from them.

300

FILIAL PIETY AJfONG THE CHINESE,

[July

I will close my remarks with a brief statement of what appears
to me to be shown, in this survey of Chinese authorities, in regard
to the character and influence of their filial piety. And first in
regard to its character.

This, it may be conceded, is based in truth, having its origin,
as the virture must everywhere have, in human nature. But what
springs from nature must be like the nature from which it springs.
Poor seed and poor soil impart their poverty to what grows from
them. And this law applies to animal as to vegetable productions j
to the human as well as to the brute species; and to moral as well
to physical traits. Now bearing iu mind this natural law, and
knowing what we do of the character and habits of this people, we
should expect, I think, to find the instinct, or moral trait, of filial
love springing up here more weak and degenerate than in countries
where character is more robust, and the moral sentiments more
fully developed. And this we find to be true. Everywhere we
read it in their books, and everywhere we see it in their domestic
life. Trees are know by their fruit. But very much of the filial
frnit growing around us hero is but apples of Sodom, compared
with what we have seen in other lands.

Again, these plants of filial love, by nature weak, are further
weaknened by the uufriendly atmosphere in which they grow.
Look at the ignorance—look at the superstitions—look at the
vices—look at the cruelties, and the general wretchedness, pervad¬
ing Chinese homes; and then expect to find in them vigorous
growths of filial love ? The very thought of such a thing seems
absurd.

Then, too, the false and superstitious notions that, like poison¬
ous parasites, grow up upon them, tend still further to hinder their
growth—tend still further to choke and crush out their life. Filial
piety among the Chinese is of course everywhere praised, every¬
where enjoined, and everywhere exacted. But what is praised,
enjoined, and exacted, is not the virtue in its truth and beauty, bub
the virtue in its falsehood and deformity.

But finally, what of its influence ? Its influence has doubtless
been, and it still is, very considerable. Indeed, if we look on both
sides of it—where it has been for good, and where it has been for
evil—we must admit that its influence lias been great, very great.
But the influence that some have attributed to it—that it has been
the salt that has preserved the people, and the nation, while so
many other peoples and nations have passed away—I do not
think it has or that it has ever had. This preservation, wonder-

August.] ITS CHARACTER AND INFLUENCE. SOI

ful as it may seem, can probably be explained by other causes.
At the same time it may possibly be true, that not only this
filial virtue, but also the false notions and superstitions that have
grown up and around it, have operated to some extent in this
direction.

But what is, and what has been, the influence of this virtue on
the social and domestic life of the people? Some of it no doubt
has been beneficial; bnt much of it has been injurious. That is to
say, the false and superstitious notions connected with it, and
which the Chinese regard essential to it, have led to evils which
make their social and domestic life any thing but happy. It would
be wrong, no doubt, to charge all the evils existing in communities
and families here, either to the absence of filial love, or to its pre¬
sence in its perverted form. Yet one can see but little of Chinese
life, without wondering how it is that its greatest of all virtues
should he so little practiced. And the longer, and the more deeply
he looks into the subject, the more fully he will probably become
convinced, that filial love and reverence are after all not very large
elements of Chinese character; and that what is commonly practiced
under the name of filial piety, has too little of these elements in it
to make it very powerful in its influence for good. And so it
happens that the peace, the concord, and the affection that so
largely prevail in communities and families at home, are found so
seldom here.

And this state of things is nothing new. It seems to have
been always the same. We have seen how Confucius censured
the heartless observance of the duty in his time. It was held,
lie said, to mean the support of one’s parents; that is, a mere
service, without love or reverence. The same thing is lamented in
the Book of Odes, the Book of Records, and most likely in all the
books that have been written on the subject from that time to the
present. And the lament, we may be sure, has not been without
reason. Ignorant of God the people have made and served images.
So in their darkness and superstition they have changed this virtue
into what is a virtue only in part; and what they have served
most is not that part. And so its influence for good has been
greatly lessened, while its influence for evil has been immensely
increased.

302

GLIMPSES OF HAINAN.

{July-

GLIMFSES OF HAINAN.

By Rev. B. C. Ebnrt, M.A.

8ECOND PAPER.

TTAVXNGr reached Wo-she, we felt that the duller portion of the
^ journey was behind us and prepared to enjoy the new, varied
and striking scenes before us. We soon found a comfortable inn,
a long, narrow building with a succession of apartments whoso
arrangements showed the thrift of the owners. Pacing the street
was an ordinary shop on, one side of which were several counters
let out to small traders on market days; the middle and main
section was set apart for guests, and the rear was occupied by the
family, which seemed, to be of fair proportions, if one might judge
by the number of girls and women that peered around the corners
to get a glimpse of the strange guests, and scurried away as soon as
they were observed. Behind all was an open space enclosed, with
flowers and fruit trees, piles of fire wood and sundry household and
farming utensils. From this enclosure a gateway led out to the
hill, against which the town is built, where barricades of trees
remained to show some of the means of defense when war disturbed
the natural quiet of the place. The town itself is of small dimen¬
sions with one broad street running from end to end, in the centre
of which stand booths occupied by itinerant traders on market days.
Five temples, two of which are large and showy, comprise the
public buildings. It is the residence of the Wo-she Sz, a small
mandarin who quite ignored our presence, and is the last official
station of the Chinese in this direction toward the interior. The
surroundings of the town are very attractive. A number of cocoa-
nut palms, set against groves of larger trees, such as liquid ambar,
Castanopsis, and wide spreading banyans, produced a fine effect.
To tbe east rises a fine, wooded hill, covered >vith a variety of trees
and plants in great profusion. Trees of immense body and lofty
height, their trunks encircled by sturdy creepers which, spreading
out their twining arms* hang in festoons from branch to branch
and from trunk to trunk, making passage though the wood a most
difficult performance. Nest ferns {Asplenium nidus) of perfect
shape and unusual diameter, grow abundantly on the moist and
vine-girt bodies of the trees and in the forks of their branches.
After much struggling to force a way though the tangled vegeta¬
tion, we reach the top, and standing on the ruins of some earth¬
works, mementoes of the last local disturbance, see the surrounding
country to great advantage. Wood clad hills and valleys, stretches
of good rice land and broad extents of shrub-grown pasture $elds.

•GLIMPSES -OP HAINAfK

303

August.]

with roads leading in all directions to the numerous villages, present
a fair picture of rural peace and quiet. The most striking feature
in the landscape is a group of hills to the south called the Pak-shek,
or White Stone Ridge, whose jagged walls of white colored rock rise
abruptly from the midst of a heavy covering of dark green wood¬
land. It is a conspicuous object for many miles and lies in the way
to the valley of Fan-k'ai (=g£ j§|) well known over the Island as the
place where the decisive battle that ended the Hakka troubles some
years ago was fought. Beyond the White Stone Ridge rise the
outlines, but dim as yet, of the higher ranges in the unexplored
interior. At Wo-she we meet a new element in the population,
the Hakkas who occupy a rich and attractive belt of country,
lying between the older Chinese settlers along the sea shore and
the aborigines in the mountains. The thrift and enterprise of
the Hakka emigrant from the north is well illustrated in the
history of the colony in the interior of Hainan. About one hundred
and twenty years ago two Hakkas from the north-east of the
province come to Hainan and pushed their way into the interior.
Iu the neighborhood of the great hill Sha-mo-ling they found
unoccupied land, well adapted to farming and grazing,. They took
up their residence there and soon began to prosper. After a few
years they sent for their families, and the report of their good
fortune induced others to follow until a goodly settlement was
formed. From this small beginning they have spread in numbers
and in the acquisition of territory until they occupy, wholly or in
part, a district some forty miles in length by fifteen in breadth.
Their number is said by some of their leading men to be about
20,000 centering around the towns of Ling-lun Wo-she

(ft £) No-tai ($5 Nam-fung (j§ $) and Lok-ki g). By
patient industry and economy they have become fairly prosperous
and by avoiding collision with both Chinese and aborigines, they
are on friendly tenns with both. They retain their own language
and customs and refer to their home across the sea where the tombs
and temples of their ancestors are. The father of the colony is
honored with a tomb near* the place where he first settled, where
the position of the great hill Sha-mo-ling, the course of the streams
that flow from it, and the whole conformation of the surrounding
country indicate a most auspicious location, if the diagram showed
us may he believed. These people are called the Lo-haks (jg §)
or l< Old Hakkas,” and they showed us great friendliness and
civility during our brief stay in their district. My friend’s Colpor¬
teur being a Hakka from the main land felt much at home among
them j and through him there came to me a pressing invitation from

304

'Q1TMP8E8 07 HAINAN.

[Jiily-

a village ten miles distant from Wo-she to visit and instruct them
in the doctrines of Christianity. Their friendly disposition toward
ns as missionaries, the hospitality offered to our Colporteur, the
eagerness with which they purchased Christian books, and the ex¬
pressed desire of many of them to receive special instruction was one
of the most cheering episodes of the journey and gives much promise
for the future. While clinging closely to their own language
they also speak Hainanese and to some extent the other dialects
of the Island, and the language of the aborigines. They are called
the “Old Hakkas to distinguish them from the San-hak !§p)
or “New Hakkas” who came to the Island about twenty years
ago. These belonged to the turbulent hands that caused such
wide spread disorder and desolation in the districts of San-ning
(ID, Yan-ping (ft $), San-hing (j$f -51), &c., and were driven
out in the beginning of the reign of Tung-chi. Drawn perhaps by
the natural affinity of a common name and language they settled
near the older Hakkas, but unlike them, whose peaceful policy was
the main source of their prosperity, they soon began a system of
robbery and oppression. From the Chinese of Lam-ko on the one
hand and the Les on the other they wrested cattle and lands until
the country rose up in arms against them. The people of Lam-ko,
unused to fight, were helpless before them and the soldiers sent by
the magistrate were repeatedly repulsed. It was not until a special
force of trained soldiers under a General of some distinction was
sent that they were subdued and driven from their stronghold in
the valley of Fan-k'ai g|). The slaughter in the battle fought
at this place was great, but the executions that followed exceeded
the number slain in battle, while all that remained alive were
ordered to leave the Island on pain of death. Many traces of this
brief and bloody episode remain in the places occupied by this short¬
lived colony. Under direction of the officials they were separated into
small companies and transported to various place on the main land'
The number killed and transported has been estimated as high as
10,000. This however is probably in excess of the actual number.
When defeated many of them escaped to the hills and, being
outlawed by the government, joined with the plundering bands of
the Les and have been a scourge to the country ever since. The old
Hakkas refrained from any open recognition of the new Hakkas,
but were well known to be in sympathy with them and gave them
substantial help in many ways; the authorities, however, in the
absence of any overt act wisely overlooked their secret aid and in
the edict ordering the removal of all the “New Hakkas,” were
careful to state that all the “ Old” wore to remain unmolested.

August] GLIMPSES OP SAIK^M. 305

From Wo-she our way led over rolling pasture lands to No-t&i
t^euty miles south in the heart of the Hakka district. No
town or village was passed on the way, three small inns at intervals .
of five miles, where travelers could get a cup of water or a bowl of
congee being the only habitations seen. At the first of these we
stopped for breakfast, our principal dish being a quantity of very
black native rice. The fine facilities for grazing seemed to be only
partially utilized. Small herds of cattle, chiefly water buffaloes,
were feeding on the shrub-grown uplands, the clock of the wooden
bells showing their presence on either side. In almost every herd
was seen a white or albino buffalo and sometimes three or four
in one. Their red eyes and rough, red skin showing through
the thin covering of whitish hair, gave them a strange appearance
only a few degrees less repulsive than their black mud-besmeared
fellows. Numerous cross paths leading off from the main road,
showed the entrance to many villages not visible as we passed; and
broad, well graded roads, with men on horseback and women on
wheelbarrows, were good indications of prosperity. As the clouds
lifted fine views of the surrounding country were obtained varying
infinitely with successive changes of position. To the right lay the
dark line of the Black Kidge, |||, thickly covered with trees, and
to the left the spurs of the higher ranges gave a fine succession
of views, each fresh turn disclosing some attractive hill or valley un¬
seen before. Just before eutering No-tai we come upon a group of
buffalo carts ranged on the green sward laden with goods from
the Le country. They were on their way from Nam-fung to Ka-lit
about fifty miles north-east, whence they would be shipped by boat
to Hoi-how. This road from Nam-fung to Ka-lit, about sixty miles
in length, is the chief ox cart road on the Island; and' the business
that passes over it every year in rattan, fragrant wood and less
valuable articles is considerable. We found No-t&i in the midst of a
busy market, the streets thronged with people intent on the business
of the hour. The number of people, the rapid interchange of
commodities and the whole appearance of the town gave the impres¬
sion that it was a prosperous place. Anxious to escape the crush
and rest a few minutes after our twenty miles walk, we entered an
mn which combined shop, store-house for earthen-ware, restaurant,
hotel and family residence all in one. An impromptu escort of the
people proved rather noisy and destructive and received our sharp
rebuke instead of thanks for their attention until they were driven
out by the hostess, who faced them rod in hand and covered them
with maledictions as she picked up the pieces of broken pottery.
As soon as we could get disengaged of our traveling gear I took a

306

GLIMPSES OP HAFNAX.

[July-

supply of books and drew a large part of the crowd into the street,
where under a shed in the midst of a pouring rain, the books were
sold as fast as they could be handed out, until the principal temple,
turned into a temporary dispensary, attracted the people to witness
or receive the benefit of the Doctor's skill. As soon as we had time
to study our surroundings we found that we were the guests of a
representative citizen of the Hakka district, the fifth in direct lino
of descent from the first settler and a man evidently held in high
respect by his neighbors and friends. He could converse in several
dialects and responded to my Cantonese like a native of the
provincial city. From him I gathered much information concerning
the Hakkas old and new, and received from him a present of a
geomantic map of his ancestors' tomb. His kind disposition was
shown in. his affection for two little grand-children,, who climbed
over him from morning till night, making a play-house of his bed
and taking all sorts of liberties with him. As a reward for good
behavior we promised the children some biscuits. The little girl
received hers as she deserved, but the boy being very rude was
refused. Presently the old gentleman asked for some biscuits as
though lie wished to know what we ate, but as soon as be received
them shared with the little grand-son. At No-t&i not less than six
or seven dialects are spoken, viz., Hakka, Cantonese, Hainanese,
Lam-ko Loi, Tam-chow Mandarin, the Native Le and some more
restricted local patois. Heavy rains that swelled the small streams
beyond the possibility of crossing detained us two days, in which
time we become quite familiar with the town and were glad to
see that opium was not so extensively used as in some of the other
places visited.

From No-tai it is ten miles to Nam-fung ($g ]§>), the principal
trading post -with the Les on this side of the Island. The road passes
for the most part through shrub-covered pasture lands, over which
small herds of cattle are grazing. Several fair sized rice plains aro
passed with villages bordering them. Proclamations written on tho
freshly cut white sides of wooden posts are set in conspicuous places,
commanding people to keep watch over their cattle and not permit
them to tresspass on the fields of rice and sweet potatoes which are
mostly unenclosed by hedges or walls. Some fine groves of bananas
and several small plantations of pine apples were seen. Three miles
from Nam-fung we stopped to rest under a banyan of magnificent
proportions. Its wide extending branches were supported by
many of its own living pillars, formed by the root-like shoots that
depend from the branches, and after taking root in the earth, have
grown into stout subordinate trunks. The space covered by this

August.] cjumpses op Hainan. 307

grand and finely proportioned tree was not less than an acre. The
curved and knotted roots extending for yards around the main
trunk afforded seats for travelers to rest upon. As we passed along
the eye never wearied of the hills and mountains that rose succes¬
sively before us ou either side, many of them heavily wooded, but
vested most frequently on the conspicuous form of Sha-mo-ling, that
appeared distinct and massive the nearer we approached.

Beaching hfam-fung at nightfall the question of securing
suitable lodgings became rather serious as we passed from one to
another of the dark, narrow, crowded places, with no separate rooms,
that were showed us. An empty house was offered to us, which had
been vacated by a Cantonese merchant recently gone to Hoi-how
but being without furniture, fuel or cooking utensils, damp, dirty,
with a leaky roof and the back door missing, it being moreover late
a-t night end our attendents utterly ignorant of the town, we felt
that the open plain outside would have been preferable under the
circumstances. After many futile efforts to secure something better
we took shelter in the most uncomfortable and unhealthy quarters
we encountered ou the whole journey.

We were much disappointed in the appearance of Nam-fung.
Instead of the busy and important mart we had expected, we found
only a dull, lifeless town with but one street and that scarcely more
than one-fourth of a mile in length. Market on alternate days
brings a few hundreds of people from the country near and a few
tens of Les from the districts further inland. Opium smoking seems
almost universal, and betel nut chewing, of which we had seen more
or less from Lam-ko onward, is very prevalent. The women especi¬
ally, both Chinese and Les, seem addicted t.o it, their lips and chins
besmeared with the ugly red juice, their teeth and gums blackened
by its prolonged use disfigure what would otherwise be attractive
countenances. The chief and almost only trade is goods from
the Le country. This is almost entirely in the hands of Cantonese,
four or five leading firms controlling the business. The Cantonese
is the prevailing dialect of the place although several others are also
m use. The proportions of the trade with the Les was also a great
surprise. All the goods purchased by all the firms in any one day,
would scarcely make a fair load for a buffalo cart; and it is only on
the supposition of immense profits that the business can be carried
on at all. The chief articles of commerce are rattan, deer liorns and
smews, dried mushrooms, fragrant wood, hides and minor articles.
These are collected iu driblets from the Les who come out to market,
and by Chinese agents who go through the Le villages. When
enough has accumulated to make cargo for several buffalo carts, it

808

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

[ J uly-

is sent by these vehicles sixty miles overland to the landing place of
Ka-lit, at the head of navigation on the Teng-on river, and thence
by boat to Hoi-how. Small quantities are sometimes sent to How-
sui (ijfjf R$) and some also to Hoi-t*au ^). The unsophisticated
Les aie victimized in many ways, as to the weight and quality of the
goods they bring on the one hand, and in the payment they receive
either in money or goods exchanged on the other. The town is very
unhealthy, the water bad and the place itself uninviting. It is set
amidst grass grown hills, that contrast unfavorably with the
picturesque and wooded heights in the distance. In the immediate
vicinity are a number of small villages set along the bank of the little
streams, the pathways leading to them lined with high stiff grass.
These little hamlets are mostly occupied by Hakka immigrants who
are gradually redeeming the soil about their homes from its native
wildness. One of our walks led us to the home of a Cartwright
whose grandfather had opened the little settlement where his des¬
cendants lived, and which had as yet only increased to three or four
frail huts. The man was at work on one of the clumsy cart wheels
which combine the three great disadvantages of unnecessary weight,
waste of material and difficulty of management. The wood chiefly
used is that of the wild lichee which is indigenous on the Island and
grows to a great size, some trees that we saw being three feet in
diameter and forty feet high. The fruit of these trees is useless,
but tbe timber is very valuable, being reddish hued, heavy, close
grained and very durable. The country is but sparsely populated,
and would support three or four times the present population.
Besides cultivating the soil many of the people are more or less
concerned in dealing with the Les as agents for the larger houses
or as independent tinders in a small way.

Nam-fung is the last Chinese town on the borders of the Le
country. Five miles in any direction except north, the way we came,
leads one into the midst of the aborigines. The most conspicuous
object near is the great hill we have been watching on our way
hither. Four or five miles west it rises in a solid dome-like shape
more than 3000 feet above the plain. The lower portions are bare
of trees, but the middle and upper portions are well wooded. To
the south it presents a great precipice of dark colored rock, over
which water, sometimes in streams and again trickling from crevices
in the rock, pours down, glistening in a broad sheet as tbe sun falls
upon it. The hill is inhabited by Les, whose groups of straw-
thatched huts cluster on the sides and top, the open spaces among
the trees showing the fields they cultivate. They till the soil
quietly from year to year and are reckoned among the “ tame ” or

August.]

GLIMPSES OF HAINAN.

309

civilized Les. From an open space to tlie west of the town are
seen, ou clear days, the highest mountains in the interior, the Le
Mother peaks a little to the east and the higher line of the Five
Finger mountains almost directly south, while many peaks of
lower height, but fine proportions, flank them on either side.
While Nam-fung is the chief mart, yet a small trade is done with
the Les in several other places, as Ling-lun to the north and Wong-
ng and Mow-ti in the direction of Tam-chow, which is about forty
miles west of Nam-fung. The presence of gold in some of the hills
is well known and in one place ten miles south-east of Nam-fung
mining was carried on to some extent a few years ago, but the
owners of the land and the people living near, fearing the earth
would take revenge for the removal ol her precious deposits and
bring some disaster upon them, forbade its continuance and the
operations were stopped. It is said that now, being in very reduced
circumstances, these people are ready to grant permission to any
one who will undertake the work of mining.' Within the borders of
the Le country and especially at Un-mun (%P^), twenty miles south
of Nam-fung, rich deposits of gold have been found. A few years
ago a man from Canton began mining in this place on a larger scale
than had previously been done, but the natives, under the excuse
that the debris of raining destroyed their grain fields and injured
their water supply, refused to let him continue. The Les seem to he
free from any superstition in regard to removing precious metals,
but are very suspicious of the Chinese as they have great reason to
be. In the Shek-luk hills (ft |Xl) in the Cheung-fa •(£) district
about twenty miles south-west, copper was formerly mined on quite
an extensive scale, the ore being of a very rich quality. Owing to
improper management the mine caved in causing about one hundred
men to lose their lives and since that occurrence the mine has not
been reopened. This is probably the one referred to by the late
Mr. Swinhoe, and the one which a company in Hongkong sought,
hut unsuccesfully, to get permission to work. If arrangements
could be made directly with the Les, without Chinese intervention,
these mines both for gold and copper and perhaps other metals as
well, could no doubt be successfully worked. Iu whatever tran¬
saction that occurs between the Chinese and the Les the latter are
almost sure to suffer; and as the result of such experience they are
shy and suspicious, so that it would be difficult to persuade them to
engage in any such enterprise where Chinese were concerned.

Having reached the limits of the Chinese territory we were
anxious to explore the unknown valleys of the Les, where no white
man’s foot had ever trod and into which but few Chinese had ventured

310

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

[July-

to penetrate. Standing on the borders of their country we saw the
lofty ramparts of their mountain homes and understood to some
extent the nature of the defense which the physical features of the
land have provided and which has enabled them to maintain their
independence against all the aggressions of the Chinese for nearly
2000 years. Driven back from the lowlands that stretch along the
sea coast and cover most of the northern half of the Island, which
they once possessed in common with the mountain regions of the
centre and south, they have ever found a safe retreat in their in¬
terior, mountain-girt valleys from which they could bid defiance to
their oppressors and whence, on occasion, they could issue forth to
take swift and fearful revenge on their enemies.

Having laid our plans to penetrate and, if possible, pass through
the centre of the Le country to the opposite side of the Island we
improved every opportunty to gain reliable information respecting
the people and the best routes of travel. The meagerness and
indefiniteness of the information was surprising when we con¬
sidered how closely the people of Nam-fun g were connected with
the Les in trade and general intercourse. Meeting these strange
people for the first time face to face at this place I observed their
appearance and actions with no little interest. On the first day after
our arrival about twenty of them came to market of whom six were
women. Having previously heard of only two classes the “ Bhang”
or ‘‘Wild” Les and the “Sliuk” or “Tame” Les, the latter of
whom dressed much like the Chinese and the former of whom dis¬
carded trousers and other evidences of civilization I sought to
determine the status of those then seen. According to this
method of distinction both classes were represented. They all had
their hah twisted into a knot on the top of their heads, the position
of the knot varying from a point just over the eyes to the crown of
the head. Some added a second knot at the back of the head and
all had a more or less disheveled appearance. One of the men
carried a rifle and all were provided with small baskets, long and
narrow, in which the all necessary wood knife, flint and tinder, and
other small articles were carried. The women were all tattooed with
blue stripes over their cheeks, foreheads, chins, hauds, arms, legs,
and partially on the breast and back. They wore short jackets,
curved down the back and bound with thick strong thread, and short
closely fitting skirts that scarcely reached to their knees. In then-
ears were inserted bits of deer bone, a quarter of an inch in diame¬
ter. Their hair was drawn back from the forehead and held by a
comb, the head being covered by a fringed kerchief. Physically
they were strong and well developed* with pleasing faces and

AtlgUSfc.] GLIMPSES OP HAINAN. . 811

straight features. On the second market day there were about fifty
Les in attendance from various localities. Some of the younger
women were quite handsome in spite of the blue lines tattooed over
their faces. Different patterns in this peculiar tracery were noticed.
In some the lines were numerous but very light; in others there
was one light stroke beginning at the temples and coming down
over the cheeks to the chin; others again had heavy lines clotted
in the centre. They seemed shy and diffident, wandering in groups
of three and four through the market selecting articles that took
their fancy. They seemed to be greatly attracted by embroidered
purses and leather pouches, colored tlmead and beads. These
articles of the poorest quality were supplied to them at the highest
prices. All the iron tools they use for farming, their knives,
axes, etc., must be purchased from the Chinese, so that the small
quantities of goods they bring out, exchanged for a few strings of
cash, are replaced by articles of scarcely one-tenth their value.
Most of those whom we saw at this place were from Pok-sha-tang
($$[ fl®) about fifteen miles south-west, and were fine specimens
of men physically. In preparation for the narrative of personal
experience among and observation of them in their homes, the
following account, taken from a Chinese work entitled “ Fresh
notices of Kwang tung,” if In, will be useful.

“ The Le Mother mountains are lofty and precipitous. In their
midst rise the Five Finger, and the Seven Finger Peaks. Am ong
them dwell the “Wild” Les and the beasts of the forest, while the
“ Tame” Les encircle them around. The “ Tame ” Les understand
the language of the Chinese; they are accustomed to enter the
cities for purposes of trade, and in the evening at the blowing of a
horn gather in crowds to return to their homes. The “ Wild” Les
are not accustomed to come to the cities and are rarely seen. In
the Yam-tsz year (about 1600 a.d.) over twenty “Wild” Les
appeared unexpectedly with presents before the high officials.
Iheir banner inscribed with four words “(the Le people) submit
(to) civilization,” was fastened to a betel nut pole. One man bore
a large offering of flowers. They cast before the officers an article
in shape like a cart wheel, the outside of which was white, while
on the inside flowers were traced in black. One man carried in his
arms a Yan-tsuk tree (f|f| jjfj, ffi) seven or eight feet in length; two
men brought in a porcine bear and two carried a yellow deer. The
countenances of these men were all black and forbidding, their hair
was uncombed, their feet bare and their short garments reached
only to the waist, with a triangular piece of cloth to cover the
lower body. Those who saw them took them to be demons.

GLIMPSES OE HAINAN.

812

[July-

“ Over their foreheads the hair was twisted into a knot in which
gold and silver skewers or hair pins of ox bone were stuck. Those
who insert the pins perpendicularly are “Wild” Les and those who
insert them cross-wise are “ Tame” Les, this being one way to
distinguish them. The women generally wear the Le skirt which is
made of one whole piece of cloth, the upper and lower portions being
firmly joined. From the neck to below the knees it falls without
a seam, but is sewed together along the four sides, and figures
in the five colors are embroidered upon it with silk floss. This
skirt is made with hundreds of fine pleats and more than a hundred
feet of cloth is used. Being long it interferes with their walking so
they tuck it up in the middle, fold over fold on their backs, which
gives them the appearance of carrying great burdens. They do
their hail’ up in a knot with a large hair pin inserted, to which is
attached a great brass ring. Pendants hang from their ears to the
shoulder^. Their faces are stained with shapes of flowers, butterflies
and such things from which they receive the name of “tattooed
women;” the tattoo is not considered a mark of beauty. When a Le
woman wishes to marry a man each has regard for the good looks or
otherwise of the other and the engagement is formed by mutual
consent. The man first traces a pattern on the woman’s face, which
must be in exact conformity to the pattern pricked by his ancestors,
not the slightest variation being allowed, the reason he gives being
that he fears that after death his ancestors would not recognize
her, moreover previous to the betrothal the hands are tattooed and
on the evening before the marriage the face is done with patterns
all given by the man, which are a sure sign by which she is
recognized as his and prevents her from marrying another. The
old saying, (in the Lai-ki) about the “ tattooed brow” referred to
this practice, the terms used being convertible. It is done with a
needle and a pencil, the ink stain producing a bluish hue, in the
form of flowers, insects or fishes, in greater or less profusion. The
general judgment of the world is that tattooed faces are most
becoming to the Le women and also that the more prosfuely it is
done, the more highly they are esteemed. Only the daughters of
free families are allowed to tattoo and never- in any instance is it
permitted in the case of female slaves. The Le women all carry a
piece of lacquered wood on which are written several lines of a Le
ballad, the writing however is like the wriggling of worms, and
cannot be deciphered. The bow never leaves the hands of the men.
It is made of a rattan that grows in the shape of a perfect bow,
the two ends having notches on which to fasten the strings. The
strings are also of rattan and the barbed arrows of bamboo, without

August.]

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

313

feathers, but armed with three barbs, in shape like the horns of the
water caltrop, which entering the flesh cannot be withdrawn. When
about to shoot the archers conceal themselves in the bamboo thicket,
crouching low near its verge; as they fasten the arrow upon the
bow, they stand perfectly still taking deliberate aim at the object to
be shot and then suddenly let the arrow fly. In case the bones and
tendons are shattered they apply a medical plaster to the injured
part and thus with difficulty may avert death. The Wild Les
are very fierce and violent; their bows draw two hundred catties,
(266 lbs); they go armed with spears, having corselets of bone and
helmets made of the bark of some fragrant wood tree. The bows
which the Tame Les use are made of various kinds of wood, and
are in shape not unlike carrying poles. The strings are made from
the fibres of the coir palm and the arrows of the sinewy bamboo:
they are not very accurate; they are barbed with sharp iron
furnished with a double hook and have a small cord attached to them.
When about to shoot the arrow is put in its place and when any
fierce wild beast appears is instantly shot forth; the cord becomes
entangled among the trees so that the beast is easily captured.

Whenever a man wishes to purchase Ch'am-hiang (§£
(Aquilaria Agallochum), the most precious of their fragrant woods,
he sends for a Tame Le to act as guide to the Wild Les’ country.
He prepares presents, money in the form of gilt and flowered paper,
mattock heads a foot in length and three hundred arrows, silk floss,
thread, needles, cloth and other things that please the Wild Les.
At each chief village the visitor is entertained in the following
manner. An ox being slain by an arrow shot through his body, the
skin is taken as a sauce pan and the meal cooked in it is placed
before the guests. Before each man is placed a bowl which is poured
full of spiced or pepper wine in the presence of the guests. If they
can drink it, they quaff it off at one draught, if not they decline
with the excuse that they are not worthy. If some partake and
others do not they construe it as an indication of contempt or
esteem as the case may be; and although they supply the fragrant
woods to those whom they suppose have slighted them, they are
sure to waylay them in some narrow, dangerous place and kill
them, such is their fierceness and cruelty. The Tame Les also act
as guides to the Wild Les in the depredations. When they go out
to plunder they carry off men and women and everything in the
houses. The speed with which they march is like flying so that the
soldiers sent in pursuit are unable to overtake and capture them.
The women however with their great, long Le skirts are much
impeded in walking and occasionally are caught, when they crouch
down in fear.

314

GLIMPSES OF flAIXAN.

[July-

There are other tribes known as the “ Wild Kis” jfc£) still
more fierce and violent so that even the Wild Les stand in fear of
them. Generally speaking- the Wild Les abound among the Great
Five Finger mountains -fa Ul) and the Wild Kis in great

numbers among the Little Five Finger mountains (>J> £ ^ \h). The
Kis are what were called T f o {&) in the time of the [If ||] Siu
dynasty. The Les (^) in the time of the Han dynasty were called
Le (fig) rude, and this character was interchanged with Le (jf[).
The books of Han speak of the barbarous Les J[) of Kau-chan
(fa H) and again of the Le prince (^g JJ) who submitted to the
Hans, in which notices these people are referred to. The Tame Kis
are somewhat better. Those whose dens are in the warmer districts
are called the Kon-keuk-ki (££ |&£) "Dry feet Kis.” They and

the Tame Les have the same usages while those of the half-wild and
half-tatne differ somewhat.

The boundary line of the country occupied by the Les and the
Kis is reckoned at something over twelve hundred U (400 miles), or
reducing the long to add to the short, it makes it about four hun¬
dred li square. The mountains surround them like the shell of an
univalve. All the various tribes of the Les, live in the outer section,
while the Kis dwell inside. The districts (|]j||) are from twenty to
thirty li in extent and each district has upwards of ten villages.
The soil is rich and the people numerous as in the villages of the
Cliinese outside. The mountains and peaks rise in ranges above
each other and are covered with deep forests. The water is noxious
and the mountains covered with a purple mist. The air is damp
and close, being shut in on all sides, so that outsiders cannot enter
constantly with impunity. In this way, by means of what is in fact
a calamity, all savages obtain their security. There are proper means
however of securiug peaceful relations and preventing outbreaks,
namely, by diffusing learning among them and promoting friend¬
liness betwen them and the people, (the Chinese). In this way
trouble may be prevented and not of necessity by the use of soldiers.
The Les are of two kinds ; those living along the front of the Five
Finger mountains are the Tame Les, and those to the back of these
mountains are the Wild Les. The Tame Les are further divided
into two kinds; those living in contact with the Wild Les are called
Sam-ch'ai, or “Three Bailiff” Les and those living in contact with
the Chinese are called the Sz-ch'ai, or “ Four-Bailiff ” Les, the
revenue derived from them being somewhat more than that from tho
other. The Tame Les are the parasites (lit. darnel)of the Wild Les;
and the tax-collector is the deyoarer (lit. paddy worm) of the Tame

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

315

August.]

Les. Whenever a wild Le wriggles the Tame Les are up and after
him. The wickedness and deceit of the Tame Les are provoked by
the demands of the tax-collector. The tax-collector corresponds to
the village elder or the head man of a street and exacts service from,
the Les as though they were captives whose lives he had spared. The
Les accord him the title of Magistrate, and when the tax-collector
appears before the officials he also calls the Les his subjects. All
taxes are levied according to his assessment and find their way into
his private purse. When his superiors demand them he says,
"Ah! these wild Les, I don’t dare to press them lest they rebel.”
This is a specimen of their villany and deceit. In case an official
goes in person to the Le villages to receive tribute, if, as be arrives
at each place he partakes cordially of the repast prepared for him
the Les are delighted, treat him with great respect and hasten to
bring in all the dues. If in. any way he fails to respond to their
hospitality they become excessively enraged, and lie in wait along
the forest paths with their bows and arrows to attack him: in this
their evil nature corresponds to that of their water and plants.
They go to the cities naked, with their hair knotted over their fore¬
heads, having the figure of a cock with a bone skewer fastened cross¬
wise in his tail, on their heads, which serves with them in place of a
crown. The official must appear pleased, smile graciously and
converse with them, receive their offerings and in return present
them with some silver medals and red cloth. With these they go
home most happy, place them upon the incense altar and regard
them as precious. If however the official despises them because
they are naked and requires them to put on proper clothing before
he will see them, the news of such treatment is soon spread abroad
and they are thenceforth seldom seen. The tribute is also with¬
held, and there is nothing for the officer to do but to ask the tax
collector to see to it.

The Les are mostly of the two surnames Fu ($) and Wong (]£).
If a chief has not one of these names the Les will not submit to him.
When a man wishes to become a chief an ox is tied to a certain
place to be shot with the bow. If the arrow goes clean through the
ox s belly and comes out on the other side, his right to become a
Le chief is vindicated. In making agreements written characters are
not used. When anything is borrowed they take a cord and make
a knot in it, which serves as a deed or pledge. If the debt is not
paid, although decades and centuries may have passed, the children
or grand-children may bring out the knotted cord and demand
payment, nor can the descendants of the debtor deny the claim.

316 GLIMPSES OP HAINAN. [July-

If able to pay the debt they must do so, if not they must work it
out by service. In the sale of hill lands and fields the same rule is
followed. If a Le dies and leaves no children, his fellow villagers
unite to support his wife. If she wishes to marrry again she pre¬
sents her request to the chief, rolls up her clothes and personal
effects into a bundle, and choosing the man she wishes for a spouse,
drops it at his feet. If the man consents he takes up the bundle
and the woman leads him home to her house, where pigs and other
animals are slain in celebration of the wedding. When the parents
die the children gather together what wealth or personal effects
they have left and, in the presence of the chief and the people, bury
them, saying, “ The favor bestowed by our parents is so great that
we have nothing wherewith to requite them, and cannot therefore
presume to appropriate what they have left behind to our own
use.” Moreover of the people about none would dare to steal them
lest the evil spirits should injure them, so it is said. When carry¬
ing burdens in every case they use but one shoulder, no matter if
the way is over steep hills or dangerous places, saying, their ancestors
always did so and they will not presume to change the mode. This
is an instance of their stupid affectation of filial piety. The Los are
much given to cursing and their spirits have power to work great
injury. For instance, if a man falls out with his associate he
straightway curses his deceased parents: in a little while the man’s
body begins to seem like fire, his bead and stomach being racked
with pain. He, aware of the cause, does not let it be known, but
simply says, “ I have offended the earth god,” and offers worship,
pouring out a libation of wine and presenting an offering of meat.
These he sacrifices to the earth repeating prayers the while. When
the sacrifice is ended, the man and his wife divide the things between
them and eat them, whereupon the sick man recovers immediately.
If any one in trading cheats them with spurious or adulterated
articles, they lie in wait along the road, and, seizing the first mau
that comes along carry him to their home where he is beaten with
excessive severity. The victim of this treatment sends a letter to the
family of the real offender informing them of the matter, insisting
upon their sending the goods originally required, so that he may he
released. If they cannot get hold of the man, he infortiis his
associates who apply to the magistrate for Tame Les to be sent with
a warrant to arrest him. Although he does not understand writing
he will recognize the official stamp and deliver up the goods forth¬
with. Among their practices revenge holds a prominent place and
is regarded as the first obligation. They do not however accom-

August.] GLIMPSES OP HAINAN. 317

plish their revenge by artifice or secretly. Before the time arrives
an ox is slain in the presence of the people, three bamboo arrows are
taken and cut in two, after which an oath is taken and sacrifice
offered. Messengers are sent with these arrows to challenge the
enemy, with some such message as “On such a day, at such an hour,
the affair between us is to be settled; the knife is being sharpened
and the spear point whetted in preparation for you." The enemy
then takes counsel with his fellow villagers; he also slays an ox and
takes an oath before his people. The time is agreed upon and the
parties come forth to the contest; from either side the arrows fly
aud one is sure to be killed before it is ended. If one of them is in
the wrong, his wife walks across the field of contest crying out,
“It is my husband's grandsire who has injured, do not destroy my
husband, hut rather destroy me in his stead." The wife of the one
who is in the right then calls to her husband, saying, “ his wife
is so good and noble the quarrel may be dropped," and the matter
is then settled as if a full recompense had been given. If a man is
not able to accept the challenge, then he with his fellow villagers
take refuge in flight. When the avenger comes and finds no one to
contend with him, he burns down the grass huts saying, “they are
afraid of me; in this way I wipe out the disgrace of my forefathers.”
Having secured this triumph he returns and makes no further
demand for satisfaction."

From the same work we take the following paragraph in regard
to the Le Mother the great ancestress of the Les. “ To the west
of the city of K f ing-chow-fu there formerly stood the Le Mother
Temple. Tradition relates that the Spirit of Thunder carried an egg
into the mountains from which a woman was produced, and further
that a man from Kau-clii (<£ gjfc) (Annam) crossed the sea in search
of fragrant herbs, and that upon the marriage of these two, children
and grand children followed in great numbers. This was the Le
Mother -$£) who is also called j(£) their patron saint (?), the
first female ancestor of the Le people, so it is said. Originally the
Les belonged to the race of birds and beasts; being derived from
an egg their natural disposition was distinct from that of humau
beings so that from ancient times to the present they have remained
uninfluenced by the royal civilization."

At Kam-fung we met many men who had been short distances
into the L© country. Our hostess at the inn was a Le woman who
had come out from the hills half a day’s journey distant. She was
very clever, spoke Hainanese perfectly, a little Cantonese, with a
smattering of some other dialect. It seems to be a not infrequent

318 QLIMPSE3 OP HAINAN. [July-

thing for the Chinese, especially if they are poor, to secure Le wives
for their sons. The accounts of the habits and disposition of the
people varied with each man’s individual experience or hear-say
knowledge of them. Some dwelt upon their craftiness and hostility
to all outsiders, their proficience in using the bow, their knowledge
and use of subtle poisons and their quickness to take offense until
some of the Chinese members of our party were anxious to give up
the enterprise. We had among our attendants a deaf and dumb
coolie who at this point roused all his native ingenuity to express
his disapprobation of our plan indicating by signs in a most comical
manner their tattooed faces and short garments, the steep hill and
heavy grass that obstructed the narrow path, the leeches, and deep
streams to be crossed; drawing out an imaginary ■ bow to show
tlieir hostility, he would shake his head in most emphatic dissent.
He sought in vain for a pistol to protect himself, but found
a large knife. Several others of our party also procured knives
but fortunately had no farther use for them than to cut away
obstructing shrubs and branches from our paths. Our most reliable
informant was the head of the shop, Kin-cheung J|). I take
pleasure in recommending him to any one who may have occasion
to visit Nam-fung and there to seek information about entering the
Le country as most obliging and reliable in all that he advises.
From him we obtained some useful hints as to the best means
of traveling, the mode of ingratiating ourselves with the people
and certain things in which we should avoid offense. In the
larger villages the head man is recognized by the Chinese
officials under the little of Tsung-kun (fj| ^), at one place however
the chief is called Pa-tiu (ff* ) Hainanese pronounciation). In
every case we were instantly to go to the house of the head man,
which rule we were careful to follow. They do not use much silver
money, and copper cash were so heavy we inquired what substi¬
tutes could be taken and were told that the most acceptable thing
would be opium. A ball of opium they said judiciously bestowed
would enable us to travel with comfort though the whole country.
They are exceedingly fond of the drug and will make large returns
in the way of provisions and labor either as coolies or guides, for a
very small quantity. We said however that we could not take
opium no matter how acceptable it might be. This surprised our
Chinese friends. “What!” they said “when it is so easy to carry
and will please the Les more than anything else; will you not
gratify them ?” It was only after much explanation that our moral
objections wei'e understood. Opium being out of the question we

August-]

GLIMPSES OF HAINAN.

319

were recommended to take salt, tobacco leaf and salt fish. And of
these articles we provided ourselves with a moderate supply. It
was nessary to engage additional coolies as the difficulties of travel
made it impossible for a man to carry more thau half an ordinary
load, forty catties being the utmost one man would engage to take.
We had beeu favored with good weather most of the time up to this
point, but at Nam-fung several days of incessant rain not only
delayed us, but rendered traveling most uncomfortable. Chafing
under the restraint of our dark and narrow lodgings we made several
attempts to start for the Le hills hut found the streams so swollen
that no one could cross them and going to the top of some of the
nearer hills saw the country flooded in all directions. During this
delay we received many kind attentions from our Chinese neighbors,
one man offering us the use of his horse to ride over the country,
others proposing to take us to the great hill Sha-mo-ling. We were
also visited by numbers of Les from the inner districts, who like
ourselves, were detained by the floods. Most of these wore Chinese
clothes but not queues. They brought doleful accounts of the
high water, but assured us that in the end we would have no
difficulty in crossing the hills, and some of them even offered to act
as guides to Ling-shui, (|IJ? ?jc). We had frequently been told-that
to cross the Island either from north to south or from east to west,
directly through the centre was a feat which even the Chinese had
never accomplished. In the sixteenth century the statesman Hai-jui
($$ proposed as the best means of controlling the Les, to open
roads from north to south and from east to west crossing each other
in the centre. This simple plan known in official records as the
“cross roads proposal,” was never undertaken and the interior
has remained a wild unknown which even the most venturesome
Chinese, spurred on by the hope of gain, have scarcely dared to
penetrate.

Although many men at Nam-fung professed to be familiar
with the country and to have lived with the Les for weeks and
months at a time, yet close inquiry revealed the fact that their
farthest journeys had only been to the nearer tribes and none could
give as accurate directions for more thau two or three days. Our
purpose to cross the mountains by as direct a line as possible to
Ling-shui 7 JC) caused great surprise. Some advised us to keep
to the east and north of the hills by way of Ling-mun (H and
reach Ling-shui by the usual route through Man-chow; others
counseled us to strike for Sam-a iS)> by .way of Pok-sha-t'ung
to the south of the Five Finger Range y but when we announced

320 GLIMPEE9 OE HAINAN. [July-

our determination, if possible to go straight across passing along
the foot of the great Five Finger Kange, they could do no more
than direct us for the first two or three days, telling us that after
that we must inquire of the Les from place to place. No one doubted
the possibility of making the journey we proposed, but many dwelt
at length on the danger from robbers, the uncertainty of a friendly
reception from the Les along the way, the discomforts of travel,
the blood-thirsty leeches that would attack us on all sides, the
scarcity of food, the Les themselves being sometimes reduced to
eating the leaves of trees. Making due allowance for exaggeration,
we were not discouraged but only impatient of the delay which the
storms made unavoidable, and eager to see these interesting and as
we believed much wronged people in their homes. At last after a
week's detention, the weather having partially cleared, we took up
our march in the morning, hoping to reach the first Le village by
night. Our course lay almost directly south, and all went well for
a mile or more until we reached a small brook with steep banks on
either side, made of hard, slippery clay that threatened unpleasant
consequences at every step. Three miles brought us to a river of
considerable size over which we had to be ferried. The water was
deep and swift, the debris on the shores showing at what a height
it had flowed but two days before. The ferry boats were the rudest
kind of dug-outs made from the solid trunks of large trees called
heung-lo-muk, probably of the camphor family. They were simply
hollowed out and carved a little at the end and seemed very clumsy
crafts to venture in. The usual fare is said to be twenty cash for
each passenger; of this we were not informed at the time and the
boat man accepted much less without demur. Ascending the
opposite bank we passed some teak trees in bloom, the clusters of
pink flowers combining well with the large ornamental leaves, and
after some slippery climbing reached the level road again. The
river in its winding course approached our path on the right some
distance above where we had crossed and soon after appeared on our
left far below the crossing and winding on its downward course
between attractive lines of hills, some wooded cliffs overhanging its
banks as it disappeared to the south-east. The fragmentary section
we had seen indicated a succession of charming and picturesque
scenes along its course until it issues from the lulls in the district of
Ting-on. We passed several small hamlets which looked foi’lorn and.
lonely in the wide grass-grown wastes that surrounded them. In the
small fields beside the houses, great ant-nests cut from the bamboos
were set up as scare-crows. Scarcely had we traversed two miles of

August.] GLIMPSES OF HAINAN. 321

easy road when a wretched gully, filled with the vilest mud had to
be crossed. As we passed through it and the little stream, of clear
water in the centre of it, the deposit of sand and mud on the high
grass and branches far above our heads gave us a word picture of
what we should have encountered two days previous. The hills
over which we passed were grass-grown and treeless, but on all
sides appeared the greatest variety of hill and mountain landscape.
Many of the hills in sight were thickly covered with trees; others
with fine groves crowning their summits and their sides bare, while
others showed great black spaces from which the grass had been
burned; the whole being very attractive. In the ravines below
small streams gurgled along; hidden by the heavy masses of vines
that twined and intertwined in impenetrable screens over the
yielding bamboos making ascent along the water courses a sheer
impossibility. After five miles travel we came to a creek flowing
down a deep ravine which we had to cross three times in a few
hundred yards. The water was transparently clear and sweet. On
the farther side stood a small shed under which two men coming
from the opposite direction were resting and picking off the leeches
that had fastened to their feet. They told us it was impossible to
reach the village of Ta-man-t r een at which we aimed, as a stream
running eight feet deep had to be crossed without bridge or boat.
This was discouraging, but being directed to another place of which
we had not previously heard we determined to push on, considering
anything preferable to turning back to Nam-fung again. From
this little shed the road led directly up a steep hill, bordered on
either side and overhung to a great extent by high grass, heavy
with moisture from the rain that now fell incessantly. The hard,
well worn path was like ice in smoothness which made it difficult
for us with our stout walking sticks to keep from falling. The
coolies with their burdens were hard put to, each one stumbling
several times and in some instances greeting their mother earth
with such suddenness and force as to dislodge basket lids and
strew the ground with medicine bottles and surgical instruments.
Leaving them to struggle with the difficulties of the steep ascent,
we were soon far ahead, and by a fortunate mistake, passed
without noticing it the turning point in the path that would
have led us to the Le village, and following the wider path from
which the grass had been burned on either side, came suddenly
upon a small settlement of whose existence we had not been
informed. The day was more than half gone, we were thoroughly
wet and tired as well as chilled by the dampness; we were still six

822 glimpses op Hainan. [July-

miles from the town and darkness would have fallen upon us in the
dreariest, dampest and most shelterless spot, so we called a halt at
the hamlet of Chi-wan, and concluded to remain for the night. It
was fortunate we did so for the rain came on again, and made it
impossible for us to move for three days more. We were made
comparatively comfortable in a new bamboo house which the owner
placed entirely at our disposal he and his wife retreating to some
wretched huts a few yards away where several other families were
housed. The house was charmingly situated in a little dell with
fine hills on all sides, a stream of water flowing near. During our
stay the clouds did not lift sufficiently for us to see the tops of the
hills around, which seemed to be covered over with rank jungle
grass, with small groves of trees scattered over their sides. A
small hut of straw which afforded temporary shelter to the men
when cutting wood or tilling the distant fields was seen at intervals
through the mist. The jungle grass when cnt in the proper season
makes excellent thatch for roofs. The great difficulty in breaking
up this wild jungle soil appeared in the little fields that surrounded
the village. After burning off the surface covering of grass and
shurbs, there remains a layer of matted roots a foot thick which
must be grubbed up by main force before the soil can be utilized.
If it is neglected for a few years the jungle repossesses it and the
same process must be gone over before it can be reclaimed. As we
entered the enclosure of the little hamlet a half-blind Le from a
neighboring village was with great effort removing these grass roots
from a small plat of ground, receiving five cents a day for his work.
Our host who was a Hakka showed himself very obliging in his
treatment of us and furnished us with information for our journey
as far as his knowledge extended. He bad lived and traded more or
less with the Les for eighteen years, but had never gone more than
two or three days journey into their country. The little settlement
of which he seemed to be the chief man was a motley gathering of
Hakkas, Hainanese, Les and Miaos, there being at least one of the
latter, a woman, with stout frame, a broad, placid face and enormous
silver earrings. The time lying heavily on our hands, the dampness
increasing, added chilliness to our other discomforts, so that we
resorted to chopping fire-wood as a means of keeping warm. After
three days, although the mist still hung heavy over the hills we
started for the Le village which we reached after a most trying
journey of six miles, in that time soaked with water from the clouds
and creeks and completely tired out. We first retraced our steps
to the turning point we had missed in coming and thence wont

GLIMPSES OF HAINAN.

323

August-.]

down a grassy hill to a creek which, we reached after passing a
reeking swamp, and crossed on the trunk of a tree. Ascending
another hill, with tall wet grass overhanging the slippery path, we
came to the descent into a deep valley. In the ravines were clumps
of bamboo, covered with thick canopies of vines and on the hill¬
sides were quantities of broad-leafed plants among which the
alpinia nutous was most plentiful and also the galangal. Wild
bananas grew in profusion in many of the ravines, many trees
of the cats-tail variety, (spadothea-cauda-felina) were seen with
gorgeous flowers strewing the ground or hanging thickly on the
trees. Traces of wild pigs appeared where the soil had been up¬
rooted for the bulbous roots of the heavy grass. After two miles
our path merged into the brook descending the valley, and thence¬
forth for two hours we had to walk down the bed of the creek, with
the water knee deep, and the bottom covered with sharp or slippery
stones. Over head the vines and branches of trees greatly interfered
with our progress, entangling the carrying poles and giving our
hearers no little trouble. After two miles of such traveling our
watery way led to a stream about fifty yards wide which we had to
ford four times in the next mile. The water was swift and the
bottom stony; the banks were lined with luxuriant vegetation,
pathless jungles in fact, while groves of trees in many places gave a
wild and forest-like aspect to the scene. At the second crossing a
rude bridge of bamboo poles had been constructed from branch to
branch of the overhanging trees and on this we crossed, prefering
to trust ourselves to its swaying joints rather than wade waist deep
through the rapid water below. One of our coolies preferred the
lower route and as a consequence his baskets were struck by tho
whirling water, and to our dismay, we say our last supply of beef¬
steak and fruit disappear rapidly down the stream never to be
recovered. A short distance beyond this we crossed a field, the first
signs of cultivation we had seen. It was only a few acres in extent
enclosed by rough stakes, with the stumps of large trees thickly
scattered over it and the long stubble of the rice recently cut. On
the hill above several wild looking Les appeared, but kept at a safe
distance from us. After the repeated crossing of the stream we
began the ascent of a thickly wooded hill with a narrow precarious
path winding up the steep side. The ascent of this hill proved a
most toilsome task to our bearers, annoyed as they were by the
leeches that infested the way. These leeches which were our
inseparable companions during our sojourn in the Le country seem
to be peculiar to this part of tho Island, They are called by the

GLIMPSES OP HAINAN.

324

[July-

natives “hill leeches” to distinguish them from their kindred in
the water. They are of a grayish-brown or earthen hue and vary
from half an inch to one-and-a-half inches in length and swarm
from the ground on all sides. Along the path, on the ends of grass
blades and branches of shurbs they may be seen holding by one end
while they reach out their whole length feeling on every side for
prey. The instant they touch the foot or hand or any part of the
body they take fast hold and can only be detached by the applica¬
tion of fire, or when they are sated with blood. It is impossible to
escape them, the only question being how to mitigate their ravages.
The Les carry sharp bamboo sticks with which by a quick motion
they sometimes can detach them. The feet and legs of our coolies
were constantly streaming with blood from leech bites; and often
have we been startled to find them calmly sucking the blood in some
unexpected part of the body which they reached through a rent in
our clothes. All means of subduing them failed and it became a
regular habit on arrival at any place to first sit down and pick off
the leeches which we were careful to destroy with hot coals to
prevent them from injuring others. We longed for the power of
learning attributed to the young lady in Boston who in walking
through the park saw an ngly worm crawl over the path; she called
it by its scientific name which so over came the poor creature that
it rolled over on its side and died. Unfortunately the scientific
name of these Hanian leeches was unknown to us, and all ordinary
epithets failed to restrain them in their thirst for blood. Having
reached some open spaces of grassy pasture land the presence of
cattle indicated their proximity to the village. While waiting for
our party to assemble we examined the flora about us. Some
splendid vines threw a profusion of white and pink flowers over
the bamboos, filling the air with fragrance. Native tea growing
wild among the other shurbs attracted our notice, covered as the
shrubs were with white flowers. The presence of this tea in the
wild jungle would certainly indicate that it was indigenous. The
natives pluck and dry the leaves, and supply the market with
limited quantities of what is called Le tea. The village hidden by
a dense border of trees was not seen until we were within a few
yards of the gate. At this point, as we are about to enter the first
Le village we close this second paper, hoping in our next to give
some interesting facts concerning the life of these comparatively
unknown people.

August.] X'ANG-HI’S SYSTEM OE INITIALS COMPARED ETC.

325

K 1 A NO- HI’S SYSTEM OF INITIALS COMPARED WITH THE
SANSKRIT CONSONANTS.

By E. H. Parker.

K 'ANG-HI says that HIR |§ are “ molar” sounds [% §].

Professor Max Miiller calls k , hh, g, gh , and n [i.e. ng] the
Sanskrit “gutturals.” Of the above four characters, the first two are
in the upper series of tones, and, (according to what we shall in
future call “ average ” standard Chinese), are pronounced kicn, k'i.
The third character kiln is in the lower series, and, (though not
pronounced with a g), has its ancient lineage marked in the Hakka
language, according to rule, by having an aspirate, and in the
Wenchow language by the initial dj, which invariably represent the
lower k. In some cases, [ e.g . gi or djf], the old hard g, is retained
in Wenchow colloquial speech. Both in Foochow and Hakka, the
fourth character is pronounced ngi. K'ang-hi therefore (evidently
ignoring the gh) comes very well out of this first ordeal, and indeed
u molar tooth ” is perhaps as good as “ guttural.” The reason why
gh is ignored is that in old Chinese the presence or absence of
aspirate in the lower series was optional.

K'ang-hi says that M S are “linguals,” [f? jj£ §];
Professor Muller calls t, th, d , dh, and n the Sanskrit “ dentals,”
but he calls the same letters each with a dot underneath “ linguals,”
and says that in English there are no Sanskrit dentals, but that
Hindoos “ represent the English dentals by their linguals.” The
two first characters in average Chinese are pronounced twan, t K eu,
The third character has its lower or soft origin marked in both the
Hakka and Wenchow dialects. As regards the Wenchow dialect I
shall have to go into its peculiarities at length later on, but for
present purposes, suffice it to state that like the JEfakka dialect, it
marks the lower t (i.e. the d) with an aspirate or quasi-aspirate.
The fourth, character is, in average Chinese, pronounced ni. K'ang-
hi therefore is again quite consistent, and as before he ignores dh.

K'ang-hi says that ^ are _£ ^ [? “supra-

linguals”]. Professor Muller calls ch, chh } j, jh, n [i.e. the French
gri] “ palatals ” in Sanskrit. In average Chinese, the two first
characters are pronounced chi, c/dch (ch'heh). In Foochow the third
character is pronounced teng and ting. Now though this is not j,
yet in Foochow the absence of an aspirate where in average Chinese
there is one marks, in a way exactly contrary to the Hakka language,
the lower or soft origin of the consonant. We should observe that
by j Professor Miiller means the sound dj, and by jh the sound djh.
In Wenchow the same character is pronounced dzing. In this

326 e'aNG-HI’S 8Y8TEK OF INITIALS COMPARED [July-

dialect dj invariably represent the soft or lower series of k, and dz
the lower series of one group of eh. However 5 (and its compounds)
is used for s/s (and its compounds), so that dz is (by relation) equal
to dj. As to the fourth character, the old initial remains in the
Wenchow gnie and the Hakka gnong or ngiong, [nong~\ : but the
Contonese w ong, the Foochow niounf/, the northern niang are not
so clear. Thus K'ang-hi is again consistent. It ■will probably be
found that K ( ang-hi wished to represent by the first three characters
the Dutch initial tj or the Italian c (before t): the reason for this
supposition will shortly, follow.

K’ang-hi says that W are “heavy labials” [i| -jt]
Professor Muller says that p, ph , b, bit, m are u labials.” The first
two characters are in average Chinese pang and p'ang, and the
fourth character is tning. In the Wenchow and Hakka languages
the quasi-aspirate or aspirate marks what should in the third
character, be the b (bing } in the same way as with In Wencbow
such surds as ta, pa, are invariably da, ba: whilst sonants, {i.e. words
which are in the lower series), are dha, bha , or tha, pha, (a mixed
surd-sonant into which we shall at some time have to enquire
separately). K T ang-hi therefore well maintains his place again.

K'ang-lii says that 0 are “light labials” Hi-

Here the Chinese have the pull over Professor Muller. What
K'ang-lii evidently means is/, fh, v, and w. Now the first character
is fi, fei in most dialects, though in Foochow / always becomes h or
Inc. In Wenchow neither / nor hw are ever found in the lower
series, nor are v and impure to found in the upper. The second
character probably represents an initial (as far as we know now
extinct in all dialects as a separate sound) belonging to words which
are in modern dialects irregularly ph and/. The third character is
still vwxg in Wenchow. The fourth character begins with a w in all
the dialects we know, but in Wenchow a sort of aspirated n> (like v }
is confused with v. K'ang-hi undoubtedly holds his own with this
set of initials.

K'ang-hi says that jfg fj§ %£ jfr are H- By this he

would appear to mean “ impure dentals.” Now ts and tsh are the
average initials for the two first characters. Sanskrit has neither
compound letter, so that we can only congratulate K’ang-hi upon
his discovery. Whether dz and z is the ancient form of the third
initial we do not know, but all ts and tsh in the lower series are s in
Wenchow, and in Foochow the aspirate is as usual omitted, that
dialect being very poor in initials. As to the fourth character, in
eight dialects the initial is either s or Its (the Sanskrit s'). The sounds
rfz and z do not figure amongst the Sanskrit letters, but Professor

August.]

WITH THE SANSKRIT CONSONANTS.

327

Mtiller describes s and a' as " sibilants ” dental and palatal respec¬
tively. It is to be assumed from K'ang-hi’s language that he meant
s and not d (ta). On the whole he acquits himself of this group
very tolerably too.

K'ang-hi says that $£ are "pure dentals,” [j£ $§].

Here we regret to say we are "nowhere.” In Peking, Canton.
Foochow, Wenchow, and average Chinese, the first character begins
with ch. In Szch'uan, Hankow, Yangckow, and Hakka it is as
much ts. Both these initials have been classed already. The second
character is pronounced ch'ican, ch'wi, ch'iong , chHie, ch'uan, ts'toan,
ts'ou, ts'on, in the above dialects. However it is yet possible to
differentiate this initial ch from the ch of the third group. For, in
Foochow, the first three characters of the third group are pronounced
H, tick (and t'iek) and ting, whilst in Hakka the first character of the
third group is pronounced ti. The third character of the last five,
again, has a ch or ts initial in all the above dialects except that of
Wenchow where it is pronounced jwo and djioo, that is (subject to
the rules governing the lower series), points to a second soft form
of ch, that is jw. The fourth character is pronounced with either an
sh or an s in all the above dialects. This may be the Sanskrit
sibilant palatal s' (Its) of which we have treated, or it may be the
Sanskrit sibilant lingual sh. In the Yangchow dialect these two are
confused, and there is no difference between "average” she, sic and
hie. On this point we shall in due time have more to say. The last
character unfortunately has two equally common meanings and
sounds in all dialects, and it is therefore badly selected as a
specimen sound, nor can we guess which sound is intended. For
instance, the Pekingese is slum ch'an ; the Cantonese shin shim ; the
Foochow sieng (two tones); the Wenchow zie (two tones); the
Szch'uan than ch'an (or san is'an); the Hankow san is'an ; the
Yangchow hsic ch'ie (or she cit e), and the Hakka shen sham,
Thus in all these dialects the people seem to have run into sh of
"average” Chinese and aspix’ated ch i.e. chh according in each to
whether the tone was even or oblique.

K'ang-hi says that $£ |Jj§ J§I are "gutturals,” [Pg| §].
Here, again, we are in a terrible mess. To begin with the first;
average Chinese says y, and ying, ying, ing (vulg. oung), yang, yin,
yin, ying and yang, are the initials of the above-mentioned dialects.
Professor Muller, however, calls the Sanskrit y a "liquid palatal.”
The second character is hsiao, hiu, hieit, hia (or Asm), hsiao, Itswa and
hiao, in the above dialects. As Professor Muller calls the Sanskrit
h a " liquid guttural,” we may perhaps allow h to stand for thi3
initial. There ia a now obsolete Sanskrit "sibilant guttural”

328 K^iNQ-Hl’s 8YSTHM OF IINTIALS COMPARED ETC. [July^

corresponding (according to Professor Max Miiller) with, the Greek
X: but as, when in Greece, we found this to be a very harsh sound
like the Russian % and the Scotch or German ch, we reject this sound
as a representative of K'ang-hi’s h in hiao. The third character is
pronounced yu x ii (or yii), dii (the oblique tone form of ii); yii; yu;
yii; yi; in the above dialects. This would appear to point to a
gentler y than the other,—the difference, in fact, between unite and
you knight in English. Sanskrit does not help us here. As to the
last character, the sounds are hsia, hap, ah, a, hsia, Asia, hsiak and
hap. Here we have sibilants and aspirates almost exactly corres¬
ponding with those in j|j§. The absence of an aspirate in "Wenchow
in this instance means nothing to the point, for no lower tones ever
take there an initial aspirate. In Foochow the hii class and Jt *5 or
{hi) of “ average ” Chinese seem to be promiscuously ah and hak.
We cannot in the least suggest what the difference was in ancient
times between these two h initials. Moreover, K'ang-hi leaves the
harsh Peking initial h (Scotch ch) unillustrated, that is he gives us
two h l s followed in each case by an i instead of by an a or u. We
regret that we cannot offer K r ang-hi our congratulations upon his
treatment of the ifs and h l s.

K'ang-hi says that ^ and 0 are “half lingnals and half
dentals,” jZj- ^2 ‘j§jQ. Professor Muller calls the Sanskrit l a
dental, which is satisfactory for the first character. We should be
glad to think in reference to the second, that the Sanskrit j was
the French j or the English zh (in azure, pleasure), but we made a
special visit to the Sanskrit college in Calcutta to find this out, and,
according to the pundit, the only difference between the Sanskrit $
and ch was that the latter was the stronger. An ordinary English¬
man would not notice the difference at all. The first character
has a distinct l initial in all the above eight dialects, (though
occasionally at Hankow it may seen to run into «). As to the
second character jih (jj or zhzh); yet (yit); nik; zai fvulg. nie); jih
(jj); jj (jih); jc (or ja); and gait (Hit) are the pronunciations in
Peking, Canton, Foochow, Wenchow, Szch'uan, Hankow, Yangchow
and Hakka, so that K f ang-hi might haves aid it was a “ guttural -
palatal-lingual-dental-labial-sibilant-liquid-nasal,” and yet have
been within the mark.

Having now nearly completed tables of the chain of dialects
from the North to the South, from the West to the centre, we shall,
we trust, be in a position shortly to discuss the knotty question of
finals. Dr. Chalmers has done the best service hitherto in this
matter, but it is to be regretted that he has always lived in the
south, and thus had a very limited personal experience. -

August.]

CORRESPONDENCE.

329

The Population of China.

Dear Sir,—

Dr- Sapper's interesting article in the last number of the
Recorder has brought to my mind a letter received in 1878 from a
well-known Chinese Scholar in reply to some enquiries of mine
regarding the population of Chinese.

Some sentences of this letter rhay possibly prove of some use,
if not in illustrating Dr. Dapper’s argument, at least, in attract¬
ing to your pages such additional data as possibly is concealed iu
the possession of some of your readers.

Having been requested at the time referred to, to revise for the
press that portion of the Church Missionary Society’s Atlas which
refers to China, I had applied to the best informed person I was
acquainted with to know if he could indicate any really trustworthy
documents on which to found an estimate of the actual population
of China.

Wliat he says, in his reply, of Sir Thomas Wade’s acceptance of
the conventional 400,000,000, I omit, because he had to trust his
memory for a conversation then two years old, and of which he had
preserved no notes. But the following is interesting; “In September
(the letter is dated 9th November) I called on H.E. lCwo in Paris, and
asked him to give me information on two points, the population and
the revenue .... He said he believed the population to be over
400,000,000, but that it was impossible to supply documentary proofs,
that in fact there had been nothing like a census taken since the tune of
CIS ion-lung .” As you no doubt have the Chinese Repository at hand will
.you kindly give us the Chinese authorities* for the 1812 Census,
which Dr. Williams esteems so highly; adding that the Morrisons and
Dr. Bridgman thought it “ the most accurate” then available. He
quotes Vol. i. p. 359 of the Repository. My correspondent, after stating
that Dr. Morrison’s figures (under 150,000,000), may be accepted as
a fair approximation for the beginning of last century , proceeds to say
that an advance to 400 millions in,—say, a century and a half is

* The authority referred to is “Ta Tsing HTniy-tccn,” the statutes of tho Ta Tsitig
Dynasty, new edition, published at Peking in 48 octavo Vo is, “in tho 8th year
of Toou Kwang.”

330

CORRESPONDENCE.

[•July-

“ not; at all surprising.” He proceeds, “ I may add that a few days
“ago I had some conversation on the subject with Sir W. Herschel,
“ a brother-in-law of Sir Thomas Wade. He said that the results
“ of the Census of India had taken them all by surprise, being so
“ much larger than the most experienced of them had been prepared
“to expect. A complete and correct census of China would
“probably surprise us all in the same way.”

If the Census of 1812 possessed anything like the authenticity
of those so graphically described by the P. Amiot, in the
“Memoires concernant la Chine,” vol. vi. pp. 272 following, then it
appears to me that one should demand at least equally precise data
of losses by war, famine, etc. to justify us in reducing 362 millions,
plus the increment of 50 odd pears, to Dr. Happer’s estimate of 280
millions.

Without further information I am led to surmise either that
the Doctor considers the 1812 Census illusory, in which case it is of
no use as a basis of calculation, or that he has omitted to allow for
the increase of population during the half century or more since it
purports to have been made.

I am Sir,

Your obedient servant,

G. E. Moule, Bishop.

P.S .—The P. Allerstain had prepared before his death and
his colleagues, in 1780 or thereabouts, sent to the editor of the
“Afenioires" the particulars of a census for the. 26th of Ch'ien-lung
quoted by Dr. W. under the following year. The amount gis given
in the “ Memoires ” is a few hundreds less than in Dr. Williams. The
Editor of the “Memoires” appends to his statement the remark that
he has received, together with the original paper, a comparison of
the figures for the two years, 25th and 26th Ch'ien-lung (1761-62)
which gives annual increment 1,375,741 or about one-half per cent
on the population of the former year. This does not seem an extra¬
vagant supposition. And if (assuming the genuineness of the 1812
census), it be applied to estimate the advance of population since
1812 even Dr. Happer’s allowance for the waste of war, famine etc.
will hardly extinguish the increment; i.e. will hardly justify us in
placing the actual population below 350 millions.

G.E.M.

August.]

MISSIONARY NEWS.

331

Jpmuiunuj isfos.

guilts, pwwteflfjS & g*ntb$.

BIRTHS.

At ‘Pai-yuen-foo, May 18fch, the wife of
Dr. Schofield, China Inland Mis¬
sion, of a daughter.

At Shanghai J une 30th, the wife of Eoy.
W. A. IIoyall, American Methodist
Episcopat Mission, South, of a
(laughter.

At Shanghai August 17th, the wife of
Rev. D. L. Anderson of the American
Methodist Episcopal Mission, South,
of a sou.

MARRIAGES.

At Wauepa, Otago, N. Z., on April
14th, by Rev. W. Bannkrman,
Alex. Don of Ballarat, Victoria,
Chiueso Missionary of the Otago
and Southland Presbyterian Church,
N. Z. to J!i6sMilly Warn© of Portage
Lnke, Houghton Co., Michigan,
U.S.A.

At Shanghai on June 23rd, by Rev.
F. R. Smith, Rev. Arthur Sowerby
of the English Baptist Mission, Tai-
yneu-loo, to Miss L. Clayton of
Maidenhead, England.

At Shanghai on Juno 23rd, by Rev.
F. R. Smith, Rev. J. S.Whitewkight
of the English Baptist Mission,
Ching-chow-foo, to Miss M. A.
Allen, of Barislal Euglaud.

At H. B. M. Legation, Peking, by Rev.
H. B hereton, Mr. T. W. Pigott of
the China Inland Mission to Miss E.
J. Kemp, Unconnected.

At Canton by the Row A. P. IIapper,
D-D., assisted by llev. H. V.
Koyes, the Rev. A. A. Fulton of
the American Presbyterian Mission,
C.autou, to Miss Florence Wishard
ol the Presbyterian Mission in Siam.

At Peking on June 27tli, Philip Wy at
only child of Rkv. and Mrs. W.
Ament of tl.o A.B.C.F.M., Missio

At Foochow, on 10th July, of sewni
fever, Lucy E. wife of Rev. <
Hartwell of the A.B.C.F.M., Mi
fiiou. Her first arrival at Foocho
was on 9tli June, 1853.

At Shanghai, on July 18th, the wife of
.It. Jackson, China Inland Mission.

At Shanghai, on July 27th, Walter
Thompson, only child of Rov. and
Mrs. C. F. Reid, American Mothodist
Episcopal Mission, Soocliow.

At Tai-yuen-fu, on August 1st, Dr. H.

R. Schofield, China Inland Mission.
At Shanghai August 20th, Pastor
Jensch, from Canton.

AeriyaL3. —At Shanghai per s.s.
“Glengarry” on June 22nd, Misses

L. Clayton and M. A. Allen, to join
the English Baptist Mission in
North China.

At Shanghai on Juno 28th, Rev.
J. H. Pyke, Mrs. Pyko and three
children of the American Methodist
Episcopal Mission, Peking on their
ret urn; Mrs. Jewel] to join t he same
Mission ; Miss Harris to join the
American Episcopal Mission at
Shanghai. * # *

Departure. —From Shanghai on
July 24th, J. E. Stubberfc Esq.,

M. D., of the American Presbyterian
Mission, Ningpo, forU.S.A., Home

address, Bloomfield, New Jersey.

# *

*

Peking.- —Dr. Dudgeon has just
published a second volume of
miscellaneous Medical Essays in
Chinese in a handsome volume of
about one hundred pages copiously
illustrated. The subject matter
consists of pnpers on the anatomy
and physiology of the Heart and
Lungs and of the Digestive system.
The circulation of tho blood and
the pulse are of course very fully
described. In the hands of Chinese
native practitioners or medical
students at our mission dispensaries
it should bo of very great use. The
illustrations which are huge and
nineteen in number were cut on
blocks at Peking, and although not
equal to foreign or even Japanese
plates, the workmanship is very
creditable, The book is entitled
“ Continuation of tho Corner of
Western Medicino” or in Chinese
//«» hsi i chit i (|g |f || |j| {^).
We believe it sells at 50 cents.

832

NOTICES OP RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

[July-

gttfe# xrf flmitf ||xiuliraticirs*

Report on Education in the West. By W. A. P. Martin, LL.D., President cf
TuujrweaCollege. Associe do 1’ Institute de Droit Iutcrimtionai, Pckiny, 1883'

This is a very interesting Report
on education in western lands.
11 io President of the Tnngwen
College was requested by the
Chinese Government to examine
the various educational systems
during his travels and report in
regard to them. These two volumes
elegantly printed in Chinese at the
printingestablishment of the Ttmg-
wen College contain the observa¬
tions of tho learned president. Wo
hope to be furnished with a sum¬
mary of the Report for the Recorder.
Wc now present the Table of Con¬
tents recommending to all our
l eaders to get a copy of these inter¬
esting volumes. Vol. 1. contains
notes of travel in Japan, The
United States, France, Germany,
Switzerland, England and Italy.
Vol. II. contains the Report of the
various kind of schools, including

Divinity schools. Law, Medical,
Polytechnic, Engineering, Mining,
Agricultural,Fine Arts, Naval, Mili¬
tary, Primary and Normal schools.
There is a chapter to each kind of
schools, and a chapter each to the
education of women ; the education
of the blind and deaf; Literary
aud Scientific associations; the
nations learning from each other ;
the rise and progress of science
and educational statistics. Every
one can readily understand from
a statement, of the subjects referred
to in the Report what important
and valuablo information is brought
to the Chinese officials in these
volumes which thus go forth with
the sanction and endorsement, of
the Council for Foreign Affairs.
Correct knowledge of tho most
important' subjects will thus be
diffused among those in authority.

Idiomatic Dialogues in the Pelting Colloquial for the use of students.
Ey Frederick Henry Balfour. Shanghai, 1833.

Tms is the latest book published
to assist students in learning to
speak the mandarin colloquial. It
is a well printed volume of 2f»l
pages of a convenient size and well
arranged. It consists of two parts;
the first part contains sentences, on
a great variety of subjects, analysed
and translated word for word.
This analysis of the phrases will
greatly facilitate tho progress of
the learner. Tho second part con¬
tains fifty dialogues on as many
different subjects, in which the
translation only is given in idioma¬
tic English : the student will have
to exercise his own power in analys¬
ing the sentences and understanding
the Chinese idioms. But the stu¬
dent well he greatly assisted in
this by the valuable notes and

explanlions which are appended at
the foot of each page. And the
studeuc using these as models can
easily increase tho number of the
dialogues for his own improvement
in the language. ■ We commend
this as a very useful and convenient
manual to all the students of tho
Peking Colloquial.

It will evidence to all readers
the difficulty of securing perfect
accuracy in printing offices in China,
when such an error can be found
in a hook from the editor of the
K.C. Herald ns occurs in the first,
sentence of dialogue xxix where it
reads “ quite recovered your small
health” instead of usual health.
While we take no exceptions to the
English translations iu general, we
object to the rendering of the sen-

August.] NOTICES OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS. 333

tence in the second column of page
(J2 “Heaven may bo designated as
wearing the blue robe,” but God is
not so spoken of.

It would greatly conduce to the
usefulness of the book if it was

furnished with an Index and if the
dialogues in the second part had a
heading to each chapter. Without
a Table of Contents or Index the
Reader has to examine sonic time
before lie knows what it contains.

Manual of the Laws of War on Land, Prepared by the European Institute of
International Law, Translated into Chinese. By W. A. P. Martin, LL.D.,
President of the Ttuigwen College, Associa do l' Institute da Droit Interna¬
tional &c. Printed by order of the Council for Foreign Affairs. Peking, 1$S3.

A copy of this Manual has been
sent to ns by the distinguished
translator. It is a very interesting
mark of progress wlieu the Council
for Foreign Affaii's of the Chinese
Empire authorizes the publication
of such a manual, as it implies that
the government expects in any such
sad emergency to conform to the
regulations that have been agreed
upon by western nations.

The source and object of the
manual arc clearly slated in the
Preface to it which, at Dr. Martin’s
request, was prepared by H. E. Chen
Laupin, late minister to the United
States, Spain and Peru and now a
member of the Council for Foreign
Affairs. “ On looking over the
manual of the Laws of War drawn
up by Messrs. Maynier, Blnntschli
and others representing Switzerland,
Germany, Holland, France, Spain,
Russia, Austria and Italy, I find
that its object is not to teach the
art of war but to inculcate the faith
ot treaties, the observance of law,
peace with neighbors, healing for
the wounded, care for the dead. Its
tendency is in full accord with the
books of ourCliinesc Sages, showing
that compassion dwells aliko in the
hearts of all nations.

At the present day the inter-
course of nations is more frequent
and their relations more friendly
than of old. If we could but preserve
this conipassiouatc disposition, there
would be no more mutual slaughter
and oppression, but peace and har¬
mony would fill the world, justice
pievail and wars cease,”

His excellency very strikingly
characterises war. He says; “War is
what the Creator hat es. It originates
in the defect of Humanity and
Justice- The Holy man (Confucius)
has accordingly numbered it among
the things not to be lightly under¬
taken. Mencius born in the time of
the “waning states” in Ins teach¬
ings insisted on humanity aud just¬
ice in order to restrain the excesses
of war. Fearing that men used to
war might fail to appreciate these
principles, he says; “Those who
love war stand highest in the scale
of guilt; and lest they should still
neglect them, lie says .again, “those
who love men have no enemies.”

Dr. Mart in states that the Chinese
statesmen express great readiness
to conform to the requirements
which arc represented as the Rules
of international intercourse both in
peace and war. We expect to publish
in our next number a very interest¬
ing paper by Dr. Martin on Traces
of International Law in Ancient
China,” which he argues give them
an autliorative precedent to follow.

Tliis manual is published in a,
small pamphlet of sixteen loaves.
It contains some eighty six Regu¬
lations of what is regarded as proper
to be done in time of war, to non-
combatants, to the wounded and
the dead. It is to be hoped that in
case China should ever be engaged
in war with any European nation,
the effect of this manual might be
seen in the mitigation of such war
of many of the horrors which have
been seen in previous wars.

334

notices of recent poblications. [July-August.]

A Concise History of the American People, from the discoveries of the con-
tinent to the present time. Illustrated with about 100 portraits, charts,
maps dc. Ttoo Vols. By Jacob Harris Patton, A.if., Now York, Folds,
Howard and Hulbert, 1881.

The title page states fairly what
may be expected in the work. It
is a work which has been most care¬
fully rewritten and greatly enlarged
for a second issue. The author
says.in his preface; “Elaborate his¬
tories of the United States have
been ably written, while coinpends
and school histories, well adapted
for the place they are designed to
fill, are numerous. Between these
compends, and the works extending
from four to twelve volumes there is
need, as well as room, for a history
that shall be sufficiently elaborate
to trace the direct influences that
have had effect in moulding the
character of the Nation and its in¬
stitutions, moral and political; one
that treats move fully of the “Inner
life” of the American people, and
so constructed that the reader can
obtain a clear conception of the
forces that have made the Nation
what'it is. In accordance with
this view, the present work is
designed to present, as fully as is
consistent with such a plan, those
events which are interesting in

themselves and characteristic of the
tiraesand people. Among the motive
forces, due recognition has been
given to the influence of moral
truths derived from, the Bible in
leading the people (o cherish liberty
of speech, free institutions, and the
general education of their children.

It is hoped that the intelligent
reader will find in these volumes a
succinct as well as comprehensive
view of the history of the American
people and of the influential elements
that have gone to form their charac¬